


Chaos Needs a Leash

by tykiranade



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad video game references, Brotherly Relationship, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I love the concept of chaos energy too much, Insecurity, M/M, Mentions of medical conditions, Not Beta Read, Rouge is a mom friend, Self-Indulgent, Slow To Update, Tails and Sonic as brothers, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, Work In Progress, Written based off my own experiences, references to stuff I like, self-projection, someone please stop me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23810920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tykiranade/pseuds/tykiranade
Summary: Shadow the Hedgehog has always been fairly distanced with even those he was closest to.Considering this, and the fact that chaos energy changes based on emotions, it's no surprise when Shadow loses all control of his Chaos. When he tells Rouge, she tips him off that he may be needing someone to help "tame" his chaos. What is the most surprising though, is the fact that he actually listened to her.
Relationships: Miles "Tails" Prower & Sonic the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat & Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been writing this fanfic for over a year, and decided it was about time I posted it here.  
> This isn’t beta-read, and each chapter has at least 2,400 words, so there may be errors, though I hope it won’t distract you, and that this will still be an enjoyable experience.

Shadow was racing through a field. At random intervals, the lush green grass was spotted with flowers of every color, and even Shadow could say that he enjoyed the colorful flowers, or the wind blowing through his quills, despite his usual apathy towards almost everything. After all, it was one of the wonders of Mobius Shadow had wanted to experience up aboard the ARK. Shadow had learned to live with confinement, but he could say that he did not enjoy it. Even if admitting these facts just made him all the closer to his rival, Sonic the hedgehog (though Sonic can't stand confinement at all).

His train of thought was interrupted almost immediately, and for just a second, Shadow had felt that something was off. Not a moment later, his hover skates sputtered and subsequently died. He was glad that not another living soul was anywhere near him, for if anyone had seen what had happened next, he would never live it down. That was just another reason why he hated socializing with other lifeforms. Either way, what had happened had been completely embarrassing, after his skates stopped, he managed to face plant straight into the dirt, and unfortunately, smashed a blue flower in the process.

He tried to activate his skates once more, but they just weren't working, and that angered him to quite a degree. Shadow took a deep breath and reminded himself that he always brought a chaos emerald with him. By now it was not just a habit, but pure instinct. He reached into his quills and pulled out a chaos emerald, shining like a ruby, just like his own eyes. Something was wrong though. His breath was shaking, his inner chaos energy was in turmoil, and he could feel it. Without a proper grasp on his body's unique life force, he could feel himself getting slightly weak.

With a hoarse tone, Shadow shouted "Chaos control!" Grasping on to the emerald tightly as he did so. He waited, for anything to happen. He intended to teleport himself to Rouge's place, where he was currently staying, but nothing happened. Instead, his chaos energy was just put into a state of further turmoil. Like a collared dog with no leash. Contained, but with no proper handle.

At this point though, Shadow was beyond frustrated. The reality of the situation having set in by then. He couldn't teleport back, but, in addition, he couldn't even skate back at sonic speeds. All he could do was walk. He was far from where he was staying. Really far. He had a tendency, despite being very antisocial, to just wander around, not ever really noticing where was, yet he knew he could trust himself to be able to get back without losing direction. And, unfortunately, he realized, he was not even close to where he needed to go.

And so he set off walking. His face was still covered in dirt, and he had to walk miles, without the aid of his skates. He hated this situation. This was abysmal to him. He was the ultimate life form, and yet here he was, going his equivalent of a snail's pace. All while he could barely keep hold of his chaos energy. He knew he had to calm down, to put his emotionless mask back on, or else he would have to deal with, along with sheer absurdity of this situation, trying to contain his chaos energy fueled by how furious he felt.

His walk home took hours. A little over three to be exact. And by this point, the sun was hanging just a bit above the horizon. He reached up and turned the knob to the front door at Rouge's house. He had been staying here for quite awhile, for he had no other option for shelter, and the bat didn't seem to mind much. Maybe she wanted company, but he wouldn't really ever know. He could identify when someone was lying in a moments time, but understanding other's emotions was never really a talent of his. 

He dropped on the couch and relaxed his muscles. He had been out since late morning, and actually felt tired. Of course, most of that was probably caused by his chaos energy being rather off for the past few hours. He could still feel the chaos in his body, and yet, he couldn't control it properly. He was still frustrated about it, but he could tell this only fueled the fire burning viciously within him. If he didn't find the cause of this and fix it soon, he himself would most likely be consumed by it. As the now uncontrolled chaos settled down, he couldn't help but notice something. Something was missing, and had been for awhile, he just couldn't tell what it was. It was like his chaos was missing order, or something to balance it out.

Either way, his first order of business was to take a shower. He couldn't stand the dirt on his face. He pulled his gloves off and removed his hover skates. He would come back to those in a minute. He started the shower, waited for a minute, and than stepped into the shower. His tense form relaxed slightly at the warm trickle that went through his quills and down his back. He stayed in the shower for twenty more minutes before stepping out, and drying himself with a soft white towel, designated to him by Rouge. He slipped a clean pair of gloves on with practiced ease, but instead of putting his skates back on, he took them to a table, sat down, and examined them.

After his thorough examination of his personal footwear, he determined that there was nothing wrong with the skates themselves, which was what he had expected. He came to the conclusion that, what was actually wrong, was, himself. Of course, after the past few hours, he also expected this result.

He finally was headed to the guest bedroom, when the door flew open. In the frame stood Rouge the bat, in her usual skintight outfit. She knew Shadow well by then, and he knew that, so Shadow knew exactly why she immediately started coming towards him. His moods showed on his face only subtly, but Rouge had been around him enough to know the differences. She sat down on the couch and beckoned him to sit next to her.

He complied, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get out of this. Rouge had probably noticed that he looked more tired than usual, and that he was straining to keep his chaos in check. He sat down gently on the couch, a sharp contrast to his behavior after returning there before. He looked her in the eyes, his gaze sharp as razor blades, but then noticeably slumped, just showing how tired he was. 

"Shadow. What's wrong? And don't even try to lie to me. I can tell when something is wrong." She sighed, and looked at Shadow.

Shadow hated the position he was in. Maybe Rouge would overlook his face plant, and instead focus on the more concerning issue at hand. He tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, after all, he and Rouge had been comrades for quite awhile. This just really showed how much trouble he had trusting people though. He closed his eyes and leaned back.

"Please. Don't laugh at me." Shadow turned his head away from Rouge, and he obviously didn't want to have to tell her.

He noticed Rouge trying to suppress a laugh at his request.

Shadow ended up telling her the entire story, including his not so graceful face plant.

"If I'm hearing you right, we just need to find you a leash." Rouge said looking at him through the corner of her eyes, and a small smirk on her face.

"I do not understand what you mean." He responded firmly.

"Maybe this leash, isn't an object at all. Maybe it's actually a person..." Rouge theorized.

Shadow shot her a confused, yet harsh look. He needed clarification. Now.

"Look Shadow, it isn't hard to notice, at least to someone like me, that you're lonely! I mean, you never seemed to fit in with anyone really, and even though you may trust me, you are still slightly distant with me. I think you just need to find someone you can be yourself around!" Rouge declared. 

Shadow felt awkward. He had never really thought about this. He knew that ever since his experiences on the ARK, that he felt a little empty, most likely because he had no one to talk to, and that now he just did tasks to completion, trying his hardest to perfect every little detail, yet he never thought about why. Maybe he did want someone to be himself around, yet, this was such a foreign thought to him. He was exhausted, and he didn't really want to think about anything confusing and unfamiliar any more.

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night." He walked in an almost mechanical way to the guest bedroom, trying to avoid thinking about what Rouge had just said, but he couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. 

He had just shut the door to the room when Rouge had shouted, "We're going out tomorrow, just to let you know!"

And again, Shadow knew he wouldn't have a choice about this. Once he actually managed to get comfortable (which is pretty difficult with quills), he knew that a small part of his brain was shouting at him to stay up and preserve what little time he would have alone before he was dragged out against his will at what would probably be the crack of dawn. Not that waking up that early upset him, being that he usually woke up at extremely early hours, it was more the fact that his antisocial tendencies were starting to bother him. He would never admit it, but he was actually getting nervous.

The dark hedgehog went to sleep, curling up in his blankets, occasionally twitching his ears at any slight noise made.

Shadow was woken up rather rudely, however. He cracked his eyes at the appearance of Rouge, shaking him vigorously. It wasn't anything new, and even if it upset him, he could handle it, but after a day like yesterday, all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. After a minute, he growled at her, and she stopped.

"Hey, remember, we're going out today!" She sung loudly, eventually causing him to get up.

"Hmph. Fine. Where are we going?" Shadow grumbled irritably, not looking forward to having to go anywhere. He'd rather stay home today.

"The beach!" Rouge said in a way that made here sound like a young child, despite her low voice that suggested maturity.

Even though Shadow was upset, he couldn't help but be slightly grateful, because he heard that Sonic was terribly afraid of water. He chuckled inwardly at the thought of Sonic being afraid of anything. Not afraid of being thrown out into space, not afraid of being nearly killed numerous times, not afraid of being framed and locked in prison (which he would admit was his fault), yet he was afraid of water.

Shadow had to eat a terribly rushed breakfast, which was literally just a small bowl of plain cereal that he had to eat within a small two minute time period, before being dragged off by Rouge.

He knew this would be a long day, especially if he was stuck walking all day. He needed to fix his problem quickly. His mind wandered to what Rouge had said last night, and for just a second, he actually wished he would be close enough to someone to be able to be himself, but that would never happen. He has isolated himself far to much for that. He'd much prefer sitting in a dark corner in the guest bedroom than conversing with other people.

Rouge kneeled down, and cheerfully announced, "here!" She began setting up the beach towel and Shadow just stared down at the sand, thinking about what she had said. Shadow was lost in thought when he felt his ear twitch. He swiveled around to see a very pathetic looking blue hedgehog, whimpering and pleading. Shadow identified him as Sonic. He was being dragged along by another hedgehog, this time of the pink variety, and he knew that this was Amy.

Wishful thinking wasn't it? Just when he thought he wouldn't be bothered by Sonic, there he is. Though, Shadow had to admit that Sonic looked pretty pitiful whimpering like that. Who knew his fear of water was that bad?

Slightly annoyed, Shadow asked Rouge if she had called the other two here, and she honestly answered that she didn't, and he guessed he was inclined to believe her, because no one is good enough to lie to Shadow, because he would catch on really quick.

It was then that he caught a part of Sonic's conversation with his sharp ears. 

"Amy! You know I can't sw-" Sonic started frantically, only to be cut off by Amy.

"You promised that you would spend time with me, and I think it's about time that you faced your fear." Amy replied honestly, yet Shadow couldn't help think that she was being excessively cruel. 

It had shocked him to hear that Sonic couldn't swim, yet Shadow couldn't identify why he thought that Amy was being cruel. Again, this was new. He is supposedly apathetic, not sympathetic. Apparently Rouge had noticed this internal conflict of his, and showed a spark of excitement in her eyes. She looked like she was going to say something, but she quickly denied herself the privilege, and kept the silence between them unbroken.

It was then that Amy took notice of their presence, and ran over here, still with Sonic in tow. Amy thought it appropriate to try talking to Rouge, and it was then that Sonic turned to him and pleaded.

"You have to help me." He sounded terrified, and Shadow couldn't help but feel bad for the hero. 

Shadow looked at him seriously, and, despite everything pointing towards this being a stupid decision, said "I probably wouldn't be much help right now, I'm having trouble with my chaos energy, and I can't even operate my skates properly." After hearing this, he looked at Shadow wide eyed, yet he was still shivering.

"Neither of us are in a real good position, huh?" Sonic tried to joke, yet his facade was yet again ruined by his anxiety.

Shadow looked over at Rouge and Amy, both of which were in deep conversation with each other.

"And she said she was supposed to be spending time with me. Not that I really wanted to though." Sonic sighed. Shadow wanted desperately to comfort him, but he knew that would be odd, given his usual behavior, but Rouge's words had really got him thinking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunch date, except not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I currently have 9 chapters written, so I’ll go ahead and post those here.

The group had been at the beach for hours. Shadow, oddly enough, reassured Sonic that he wouldn't have to get in the water. Shortly afterwards, however, Sonic fell into a deep sleep.

Rouge and Amy were still talking about who knows what, making Shadow curious as to why Amy wasn't completely enraged that Sonic wasn't spending time with her.

Shadow stared out at the waves, pondering his situation with his chaos energy and what Rouge had said, when he noticed an added weight on his stiff shoulder. He carefully turned his head to notice that Sonic was now leaning on him.

"What the?!" Shadow exclaimed, grabbing the attention of the two girls.

Before the two girls could make fun of him in any way, he tried to shove Sonic of of him. It worked. Kind of. Shadow, based on previous observations, could assume that Sonic was a heavy sleeper, but it turned out Sonic didn't like being moved.

Sonic slowly say up with a yawn, and gave a confused look towards Shadow. Sonic then turned his attention towards Amy and quickly jolted awake, pretending he was never asleep to begin with. Amy looked satisfied, not noticing the slight drowsiness in Sonic's eyes, most likely because of her bad vision, and turned back around. Rouge however, looked straight at Shadow, and smirked slightly, before turning around to resume conversation with Amy.

Sonic laid back down on his towel, but this time, didn't close his eyes. He soon stated with a hoarse whisper, "I'm hungry." Sonic tilted his head towards Shadow, and looked him in the eyes.

"What do you expect me to do?" Shadow whispered harshly.

"I don't know. Can't you teleport us somewhere? Oh, wait... sorry." Sonic's comment, though obviously unintentional, still provoked Shadow.

But it was then that a thought poked at the back of Shadow's head. The entire time that he was at the beach, his chaos energy was calm. He couldn't feel the turmoil, or the angry current of chaos underneath his fur. It was calm and tranquil, almost to a disturbing degree.

Shadow, almost curious, tried to activate a little bit of his chaos energy. He wanted to know that, at the moment, could he properly control it? He focused some of his energy to his right index finger, just as a test, and oddly enough, it worked. Small sparks flew from the tip of his finger, and slowly materialized into something resembling a small bolt of electricity. Odd, he thought.

Sonic took notice of what he was doing, and the look of bewilderment on Shadow's face. Sonic sat up a little, and asked, "are you sure you can't get us out of here? I mean, you probably don't want to be here as much as I don't."

Shadow simply responded with "I might be able to, and you're right, hedgehog."

As soon as Shadow finished his statement, fished a glittering red chaos emerald out of his quills.

"Wait, you always keep one of those on you?" Sonic interrupted.

"Yes, now if you would please grab my hand." Shadow commanded in an annoyed tone.

"Yes sir, captain Shadow!" At hearing this, Shadow looked at Sonic with a look of confusion and slight annoyance.

Sonic grabbed Shadow's hand, and Shadow exclaimed the words "chaos control!"

The girls looked back to just see a flash of white. Before Sonic and Shadow were engulfed by the light, they managed to see Amy's face of frustration, and Rouge's knowing smirk, of which sent shivers down Shadow' spine. He realized why she was smirking, and he just simply denied her acknowledgment. He was not going to fall for her tricks, especially after what she had said the day before.

The two males appeared near Club Rouge, which was not really the ideal place to find food, as Shadow could say. Sonic looked at Shadow knowing that all that could be found around here was alcohol, and Shadow could see the concern in Sonic's eyes.

"No, hedgehog, I do not like alcohol, it is disgusting, and I prefer to retain proper control over my cognitive function." Shadow answered knowing the blue hedgehog would have questions. "I simply live here."

"Wait, you do?"

"Yes, I live in Rouge's spare bedroom, in the apartment she owns next to the club. I also make sure the walls are properly soundproofed." Shadow elaborated, accidentally adding unnecessary details, dictated by his old habit of writing. Anytime he would encounter a new dream, he would write it down in great detail. Not because he necessarily thought that they all had great meaning, but because he liked to look back at them. Or, the good ones, anyway. 

"You soundproof your walls?" Sonic asked in slight disbelief.

"Yes, I am a very light sleeper, and I get migraines very easy. Wait, why am I even telling you all of this?!" 

"Is this an existential crisis I see?" Sonic teased.

" No, Sonic." Shadow sighed, how can anyone bear to be around him? He asked so many questions! But you wanted to comfort him earlier, didn't you? A voice at the back of his mind asked.

No! He just looked so... pathetic!

"Yo Shads, you okay? You're kinda spacing of there." 

"I'm perfectly fine. Now you said you are hungry? Well, you're away from Amy now, go eat." Shadow spoke in a dismissive tone.

"You should come with me, Shadow!" Sonic suggested.

"No." Shadow started making a list of reasons why he didn't want to go, but when he started to walk away, a feeling of dread filled his very being.

Shadow, very hesitantly, changed his answer, "fine."

When the blue hedgehog heard this, he rushed over to Shadow, and flung his arm around his neck. Shadow panicked for a moment, due to how much the action reminded him of strangulation, but his fight-or-flight response soon died down, revealing another feeling. The exact same tranquility that he felt at the beach. However, this time it felt more fresh, and more enjoyable. Like his very being needed this feeling, or like it was something he couldn't live without. Shadow soon realized how weird that sounded, and pushed the thoughts to the very back of his mind, where they would hopefully wither and die.

The pair of hedgehogs found their way to a plaza, one of which Shadow was sure he had passed the previous night, and sat down at a small joint with low ceilings. They sat inside at a small table in the corner, and ordered their food. Sonic, of course, got a chili dog, while Shadow ordered a small cheeseburger that he probably wouldn't eat. By Sonic's suggestion, they also ordered twelve mozzarella sticks to share. Shadow tried one mozzarella stick, and was immediately enraptured by the taste. It was obvious that Sonic took great joy in seeing Shadow so happy for once. Before they knew it, they had finished their food, all except the untouched cheeseburger, under the excuse that it smelled too greasy for Shadow. In reality though, Shadow just wanted the mozzarella sticks. 

Once they had cleaned up the space that they ate, and Shadow had given a hefty tip for the chef, Sonic asked, "so how exactly did you figure out that your chaos energy was messing up, and why did it work just awhile ago?"

Shadow did not feel like answering, but he did. "I was in a field a ways away from here, and I started to return, and it just failed. For the second question, I don't really have an answer." At Shadow' answer, Sonic took a moment to contemplate his response.

"You know, Shadow, if you are willing to leave your room and go somewhere far away by your own decision, then it must be a pretty nice place." Sonic formulated, and then continued with, "can you take me!?"

"You aren't going to stop asking until I take you, are you?" Sonic simply responded with a nod easily understood as a no.

"Fine, but I honestly don't know if I'll be able to chaos control again. Running is fine, right?

"Of course it is!"

"Then grab my hand."

Shadow blasted off with Sonic still in tow towards the field. Unlike the three hour walk the night before, it only took them ten minutes to get there at their definition of a leisurely jog. Once they got there, Sonic stopped just to admire the beauty of the place.

The blades of grass were bright green, and soft as could be. There were flowers of every color sprouting at random intervals. The sky was much brighter than the city or the beach. Everything held so much emotion and knowledge. 

Shadow soon halted Sonic from his observations, and led him over to small pond hidden by a ring of trees, flowers, and rocks. Shadow expertly climbed the rocks, leading an exact path for Sonic to follow. Both hedgehogs, one at a time, vaulted themselves over the top of the rocks, and landed with practiced grace.

It was not much later that playful noises reached their ears, as a Chao came running to Shadow's feet, signaling the others. Soon a small crowd formed around Shadow. Shadow crouched down and pet their heads lovingly.

Sonic just watched in awe.

"How did I not know about this Chao garden?" Sonic inquired.

"Because, Sonic, it's not manmade like most of the other ones you know. This one is completely natural. I come every so often to take care of them, and protect them." Shadow replied with a voice smoother than usual, and a soft smile on his face.

Sonic came over to join Shadow, but the Chao ran behind the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow quietly whispered to the scared Chao that Sonic was okay, and that he wasn't a threat. Slowly, but surely the Chao started running from behind Shadow's back, and towards Sonic.

Eventually, all the Chao fell asleep, leaving the two hedgehogs alone. They crawled up the the top of the rock and just sat. Before they knew it, the sun started going down, and the stars became more apparent.

As the stars become fully visible, Shadow appreciated that for once, he could just sit. Suddenly, Shadow realized something.

"Sonic, why are you not making fun of me, or using this moment of weakness against me?" Shadow asked, eyes full of concern.

"Why would I? Most of the time that I taunt you, it's just so I can race you, and if anything, it was unsettling when you always had your guard up. Like I understand apathy towards certain things, but your always stoic demeanor just felt wrong." Sonic responded. "It's nice to see that you have weakness, even though I wouldn't call caring a weakness, I mean, it's necessary to have weaknesses and fears to live."

Shadow looked at Sonic with an unreadable expression, and quickly turned away. "I never took you for the philosophical type."

"And I never took you for the protective type."

"Wait... where did you get that?" Shadow asked, legitimately confused.

"With the Chao. You protect them from harm, and they fully trust you!" Sonic said excitedly. " It's honestly kind of adorable."

"You're insane. Why would you want to take the time to get to know me. Everyone else assumes that I'm a monster." Shadow huffed out, suddenly changing the topic.

"Because I know you're not. Everyone has the potential to grow, and you have proved that. If others don't want to see the blatant truth, their loss." Sonic said as if it were a fact.

It was then that an awkward silence filled the air, this silence that felt like hours to Shadow.

Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by Sonic saying, "you know, I never really get to slow down and see the stars. They're so... pretty. Why haven't I ever stopped to see them?" Sonic questioned himself. "Maybe I've never had anything to stop me before. If you had never brought me out here, I would never had stopped to see this. I'd just run past it all without noticing any of it."

Shadow didn't know how to respond, so he just turned towards Sonic, and replied with a short, gentle, "maybe."

Shadow felt at peace, but he still didn't know why. He felt that he could just sit here forever, but naturally, all good things must come to an end, for just at that very moment, his communicator beeped, signaling that someone was trying to get ahold of him. Most likely Rouge.

Shadow's guess was proved correct as he answered the call to hear, "where are you? Do you know what time it it? It's already 23:00!"

Sonic turned towards him and asked, "what time is it?"

Shadow sighed, "11:00 p.m. We communicate in military time. And this just means that I have to get back."

Sonic decided to intervene. "I could help you back, I mean, I don't want you to get stranded in the middle of nowhere at this time."

"Fine."

And the two hedgehogs started the journey back to Club Rouge, where Sonic dropped Shadow off. 

Shadow opened the door to be met with Rouge. Judging by the look on her face, Shadow knew that she heard Sonic over the communicator.

"I thought you hated him, Shadow." 

"He's bearable." Shadow replied apathetically.

"Shadow, if you just found him bearable, you wouldn't have spent the entire day with him. Also, that was chaos control. I know it was. It's obvious that your chaos powers are behaving again for some reason."

It was then that Shadow felt the energy in his body start to do flips. This time, however, it was painful for some reason.

Shadow doubled down onto the ground, and harshly said to Rouge, "are you going to let me in!?" Anyone could tell he was in pain.

Rouge let Shadow in with an apologetic smile, but then, at the sight of Shadow's pain, her demeanor changed drastically.

"Shadow, try to use some chaos energy, if you can." Rouge commanded.

Shadow tried, but he just couldn't. It just wouldn't work.

Something had to have changed between the time at the beach and now, Shadow realized, but it seemed Rouge had already figured that out, she just wasn't willing to tell him.

"Hon, how about you go to sleep. You're obviously not feeling well." Rouge said sweetly, in the most gentle voice she could muster.

Shadow slowly stumbled to his room and crawled into bed, once again ignoring his desire to stay up in favor of getting some sleep.

He found it almost impossible to fall asleep, due to the pain, but he eventually managed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And this, kids, is why you shouldn’t run in the house.

Shadow awoke in extreme discomfort. All of his muscles were stiff and sore, and he felt a stabbing and a burning sensation in every part of his body. For a moment Shadow internally questioned whether or not it was possible to have arthritis throughout every bone in his body.

Despite the pain Shadow slowly rolled out of the bed and steadied himself as he stood up. He stumbled over to the door, but right as he was about to reach the handle, his legs collapsed, and he plummeted towards the ground with an ungraceful screech.

On the way down, he slammed his elbow into his plain wooden dresser, and twisted his ankle painfully. As he hit the ground with a resounding thump, the pain was only made worse.

As he pitifully lay defeated on the carpeted floor, he let out an embarrassingly pained wail to attempt to grab Rouge's attention. After a few moments, he heard the familiar clack of her heeled boots on the wooden floor outside of the room he currently resided in.

She slowly cracked the door to find the ebony hedgehog on the floor whining in pain. Her face twisted into one of concern as she quietly asked, "can you walk?"

Though her presence was calming, in a way, she couldn't preform miracles, so he was still forced to answer with a defeated, "probably not." At hearing his own hushed, hoarse voice, Shadow silently panicked. He was sure that he'd never been in a situation of this sort before. He had never felt this pain, nor had he ever experienced a twisted ankle.

While Shadow was busy internally punishing himself for his idiotic mistake, Rouge took the liberty of trying to carry him to the couch, where she could treat him better. All G.U.N. Agents had to pass first aid classes along with their training.

It was then that the scariest of all thoughts entered Shadow's mind: telling the commander about his situation. Sure, Shadow has fast healing, but not even that could help fix his other problem. He was valued for his chaos abilities, and for them to be rendered useless... Shadow didn't even want to think about what would happen.

Rouge noticed Shadow lost in thought, and decided to say, " don't worry, I'll tell him. You just rest." She had used the same tone as earlier, Shadow noticed.

Shadow wouldn't admit it, but he was slightly happy that he would get a break more than a few days. Though, at the moment, there was no other solution. He couldn't even walk at the moment, there was no way he could get any work done at the moment.

Shadow lifted the arm he hadn't injured, and held his hand in front of his face. He was trembling. It wasn't long after that his arm fell involuntarily due to a lack of energy. He couldn't even lift an arm... he was so weak. Shadow thought with frustration.

"It's nice to see that you have weakness, even though I wouldn't call caring a weakness, I mean, it's necessary to have weaknesses and fears to live." Sonic's words came back to him. If weakness wasn't a limitation, what was it? Why did Sonic consider it necessary to live? 

Shadow realized he was pondering something Sonic had said. Sonic saying something so thought provoking... He has so much more dimension than Shadow had previously thought. It's funny, Shadow thought, recalling something else Sonic said the night before. The only ones that think of me as more than a monster are Rouge and Sonic, his rival, of all things.

" Shadow, hon, are you okay? It wouldn't be very favorable if a situation if you were having petit mal seizures." Rouge tried asking with concern, while waving her hand in front of his face.

"Yes, Rouge. I'm perfectly fine. And I'm fairly sure the new name for those are absence seizures, even though I will admit I prefer the old name for them. I mean, they replaced grand mal seizures with clonic-tonic seizures." Shadow stated harshly.

"Fine, fine. I got the names wrong, but like you, I prefer the old names. But back to the topic, you are not fine. You can barely move! It's not like you to just collapse. If anything, I'd say you're getting worse by the day, Shadow!" Rouge conveyed in a tone that mimicked the tone voiced by a mother.

"Sure, Rouge." Shadow said dismissively, trying to ignore the obvious, in fear of how bad this could get if he couldn't fix this problem. 

Not a moment later, Shadow caught sight of Rouge in his peripheral vision with her hand on her cheek; the pose she always uses when she is thinking over a problem. He then saw her make her way over to a house phone located in the small kitchenette, which was decorated with too much colorful wallpaper for Shadow's taste. He had the most plain room in the entire apartment. 

Rouge dialed a number, and after three rings, someone picked up.

"It's Rouge."

"Could you get him?"

"I need him over at my apartment."

"Do you need my address? No? Okay."

"I just need him over soon."

"Okay, have a nice day."

Shadow only heard Rouge's side of the conversation, but he could figure out by the given information that she was calling someone over. Someone who couldn't answer the phone at that moment. This is going to be fun, Shadow thought sarcastically.

This situation really is bugging me, Shadow mused. I hate sarcasm. 

Shadow could feel that the pain from his ankle was lessening, courtesy of Rouge's treatment and his own fast healing, but it was taking far too long. He thought this would heal in about fifteen minutes, but he could tell it had been much longer than that. At least thirty minutes, unless his internal clock was off. That would be a huge inconvenience.

Shadow could feel himself getting tired. This happened every time he had to heal something. He was designed with accelerated healing, but that took its toll, and with already limited energy, the effect was greatly increased.

Shadow shifted to his side, while previously on his stomach, with his quills facing outwards. As soon as he grew comfortable, he slipped into a deep sleep.

Shadow felt drowsy, confused, and most of all, dizzy. As the world stopped spinning around him, he could make out a cushion directly in front of him and under him. He slowly lifted his head, only to be attacked by intense vertigo causing a pounding headache, and nausea. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Asked a familiar voice that he couldn't make out at the exact moment.

"He's always like this after he finishes the healing process." Informed another voice. This one was low, but undeniably female. 

At this point Shadow's mind was almost clear again. "Rouge? Is that you?" 

"Yes, Shadow. This is Rouge." Rouge answered calmly, knowing how confused Shadow can be after expended all of his energy.

"Okay..." At this, Shadow tried to turn, and subsequently tried hopping of the couch. As his feet hit the floor, his knees failed him once more, and he started to collapse, only to have someone grab him and hold him up.

"Easy there. You don't have much energy." Informed the familiar voice again. When Shadow tried to look around to get a glimpse of the person who had grabbed him, he spotted blue fur.

"Sonic?" Shadow sputtered in disbelief. "Rouge, did you call him here?" 

"Yes, Shadow. I did. And before you ask, I thought it was the best decision." Rouge decided to elaborate.

"Look, Shadow. I'm not here to hurt you, or taunt you. I was told to come here, and I figured it probably had something to do with you, especially after you told me that you lived here. I just came here because I care for your wellbeing." Sonic added to answer any lingering questions.

"Wait, you told him where you live? And here I thought you'd never get along with anyone!"

"Can it, Rouge." Shadow responded to Rouge's comment.

Sonic's face soon turned to one of surprise as he set Shadow back down on the couch. It was obvious that he forgot he was still holding Shadow. He flashed an apologetic smile towards Shadow, and proceeded to pull up a stool next to the couch and then sat down.

Rouge soon stated that she was leaving to explain the situation to the commander, and Shadow briefly expressed a look of extreme worry on his usually stoic face. Sonic saw this and reminded Shadow that it was okay to be afraid.

"But it's not okay to be afraid! What are the advantages of showing weakness?!" Shadow couldn't wrap his head around Sonic's words. It simply baffled him.

"Shadow, that isn't what I'm trying to say. It's okay to be afraid. It's not that it gives an advantage, but it's okay to express your feelings. I know from experience, it's unhealthy to withhold your feelings from everyone. It's perfectly fine to cry on someone else's shoulder." Sonic explained.

"It is? But won't people judge me?" Shadow expressed.

"Some people might, and that's why you need to find people that will support you. Just know that I will always be here if you need me. Don't hesitate to talk to me, and know that I won't ever judge you." Sonic continued.

The only way to describe Shadow's face at that very moment was baffled. His eyes expressed joy, but his ears and muzzle expressed confusion. Soon afterwards, his expression warped to one of complete peace, completed with the same soft smile from the previous night with the Chao.

At seeing Shadow's newfound tranquility (which almost anyone could assume was never seen in front of anyone else), Sonic's posture lost any stiffness it could have shown beforehand, and his features softened. It seemed Sonic was content with the current development.

Rouge chose that very moment to walk in, and delivered the message, "the commander is out today, turns out his wife is terribly sick." At her entrance, both hedgehogs immediately stiffened and instinctively raised their quills.

"Oh, was I interrupting anything?" She asked with a teasing tone.

Shadow turned to look at her, and scowled. He did not appreciate her comment, and he made sure she knew that. "Rouge, yo-"

Sonic cut Shadow off with the words, "calm down Shadow, remember what I said earlier?" Shadow assumed that Sonic meant the it's okay to express your emotions. Sonic probably also meant in a nonviolent way.

"Right." Shadow visible calmed down, and whispered to Sonic, "we can talk later right?" 

Sonic simply nodded and responded, "remember, I'm there if you need me."

Shadow suddenly asked, "how long was I asleep? Also, how much of that was he there for?"

Rouge decided to answer with, "you were asleep for approximately five hours, and he got here about an hour in." When Shadow heard this, he looked at Sonic in disbelief.

Sonic simply smiled and shrugged.

"Rouge, what time is it currently?" Shadow asked curiously.

"17:00, and Sonic, if you curious, 5:00 p.m."

"When do you have to leave, Sonic?" Shadow asked, and Sonic simply shrugged.

"Anyway," Rouge interjected, "I'm going to fill out the papers requesting a break for Shadow, bye boys!" Rouge continued, and left the room.

"What was it you wanted to talk about Shadow? Is it the everyone thinks I'm a monster thing you keep mentioning?" Sonic asked once Rouge left the living room.

"I suppose so. I mean, it's not like I want people to be afraid of me. Just because I did a few bad things doesn't make me a monster, right?" Shadow asked with an almost innocent curiosity.

"Shadow, just because I'm the hero of this world doesn't mean I agree with how the people think. Many people are angry, and they always try to look for someone to blame their anger or misfortune on. Unfortunately, you became a target. They are one of the reasons why I believe it's best to have someone to listen to your feelings. You aren't what people say you are. You can't let people define you based on their own subjective words. Everyone does bad things in their life, you aren't an exception, and neither am I." Sonic slowly spoke.

"Really?" Shadow let out with an almost child like excitement.

"Really. In the end, all that matters is how we try to make up for our mistakes, and believe me, you have made up your mistakes, and more. You have done quite a bit of good, and if people can't see that, they must be hard of sight." Sonic confirmed with an unwavering confidence.

Shadow felt overjoyed. No one really ever believed in him, or at least, not in the longest time. Though, Shadow could admit that it was pretty funny seeing Sonic referring to the very people he saves as blind. But now that Shadow thought about it, they probably are. The amount of times they had turned against Sonic, and once even mistook Sonic for himself. 

"So, Shadow, do you feel okay? I mean, you don't hurt anywhere, do you?" Sonic interrupted his internal monologue.

"No." Now that Shadow thought about it, he hadn't felt much pain since his vertigo subsided hours ago. Again, he felt that odd tranquility. It was beginning to get hard to ignore. 

"That's great! Rouge told me that recently you haven't been feeling the best. I mean, I haven't seen it myself, but I'll take her word for it. Oh! I'm rambling, does that annoy you? You did tell me that you get migraines easy. I'm sorry if it does!" Sonic quickly spoke.

"It's fine." Shadow simply responded. "It'd be nice if you stopped worrying about it."

"Oh. Heh. Sorry!" Sonic said.

Rouge came back in the room and said that Shadow has been granted leave until he had resolved his problem. She also gave Shadow some orders, the most important, however, was that he was to sleep on the couch, where it was easier to get to him if he had an issue.

Completely unexpected, however, was her words to Sonic' "would it be okay if you were to sleep here tonight? Just in case anything happens."

"Uh, sure, just let me call Tails so he won't freak out that I didn't return over night." Shortly afterwords, Sonic went over to the house phone in the kitchenette.

Both Shadow and Rouge knew that Sonic was a heavy sleeper, so he probably wouldn't be able to do much even if he was here. Rouge definitely knew something, Shadow speculated.

Rouge brought out an air mattress and some pillows and laid the setup out by the couch.

When Sonic returned, Rouge directed them to where they would sleep for the night, and told them to go to sleep.

Shadow could easily say that night was the best he had slept in a while, even if he slept on the couch, or the fact that Sonic continuously snored throughout the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meaningful conversation? Absolutely.

Shadow's ear twitched as he slowly gained consciousness. Before he had remembered his most recent sleeping arrangement, he tried to roll over from his stomach, as per usual. This action resulted in him falling of the couch. His eyes widened once he tipped over the edge, expecting a very harsh landing, but his side never hit the wooden floors, instead he landed on something softer. 

The air mattress, Shadow soon realized. Before Shadow could think much more about his second fall of the week (which was odd to him), he heard a small groan from somewhere near him. It was Sonic.

Why was Sonic here again? Shadow thought. Then he remembered. Rouge called him over and told him to spend the night. However, Shadow was once again interrupted from his train of thought when Sonic slowly rose from the air mattress and glanced at the surroundings. 

It was only once Sonic stared directly at Shadow (conveying an obvious 'what the heck'), that Shadow realized what an odd position he was in. He was currently laying right next to Sonic. Shadow quickly stated, "this was not intentional. I simply fell." 

Saying Shadow was embarrassed was an understatement. If he had moved away sooner, he could have played it off that he was getting up, but he didn't. Shadow used that moment to throw himself off of the air mattress and turn away from Sonic.

Sonic saw Shadow's flustered state and decided to try to lighten up the situation with, 'don't worry about it! You have no idea how many times I've fallen out of trees while sleeping."

"Why would you sleep in a tree!?" Shadow asked, all embarrassment suddenly thrown out the window.

"Old habits die hard." Sonic responded vaguely, providing little context. 

"Okay. That seems a little redundant, but that isn't the most questionable thing I've ever heard. I mean, I live with Rouge."

Sonic chuckled a little at Shadow's statement, before saying that he needed to call Tails.

Sonic walked over to the house phone in the wildly decorated kitchen, and dialed Tail's number. Everyone knew Sonic didn't like phones much, so he simply let Tails have his. It worked great for safety measures.

The phone rang five times before someone answered. 

Shadow wasn't really listening, but he did catch parts of Sonic's side of the conversation.

"Hey Tails! Are you okay?"

"Tails, don't tell me you pulled an all nighter again."

"Tails, you know that isn't healthy! You need sleep!"

"Sure I used to, but I didn't have a choice, you know this."

"At least tell me you ate a good dinner."

"Tails. New invention or not, you need to eat and rest. Why don't you eat something and take a nap now? We should still have apples and blueberries."

"Good. Just remember, if I come home and find that you haven't eaten or slept, I will lock you out of your workshop."

At that, the call ended, and Sonic's gaze was visibly harsher. Sonic sighed, and came back to take a seat on the edge of the air mattress. 

"Man, I hate having scold him." Sonic claimed with exasperation.

"I've never thought to ask, but aren't there other people to do that?" Shadow asked, honestly curious.

"There were, but those people abandoned him when he was four." Sonic growled bitterly, "I've been raising him since." Sonic's tone softened slightly. 

Shadow thought over what Sonic said during the phone call, and earlier in their conversation.

'Sure I used to, but I didn't have a choice. You know this.'

'Don't worry about it! You have no idea how many times I've fallen out of trees while sleeping.'

'Old habits die hard.'

Sonic's words came back to Shadow, as he slowly pieced them together, creating a slightly disturbing image in his head. Sonic's insistence of avoiding the topic only served to make the image worse. In fact, Sonic's entire conversation with Tails was mildly unnerving to Shadow.

Shadow turned back towards Sonic and said, "you keep mentioning sleeping in trees and pulling all-nighters. What happened?" Shadow knew Sonic would keep trying to deny the conversation, so Shadow tried to get some leverage with Sonic's words from the previous day. "It seems like it's troubling you." Shadow decided to go with these words after careful thought and consideration. He didn't want to make his attempts at manipulation obvious; that would defeat the purpose.

Sonic caught on to Shadow's attempt, and nonchalantly said, "you really like using people's words against them, huh?" Shadow was usually fairly good at manipulating and prying. He may not have been great at understanding the emotions of others, but he very easily could analyze them for his own benefit, so when he heard that Sonic caught on, he jolted in his spot, and his eyes widened.

Shadow cast his head down and muttered and almost silent, "sorry..." before Sonic spoke up again.

"It's fine Shadow, it's just... not many people appreciate that kind of stuff. Though if I don't say anything, you could probably label me a hypocrite, and I really don't want to be known as Sonic the Hypocritical Hedgehog. Doesn't sound all that attractive to me."

"Seriously, Sonic?" Shadow gave with a incredulous huff, as he took a seat next to Sonic on the air mattress.

"Eh, sorry. Anyway, I guess I probably tell you. I mean, after all I found out about you, it'd only be fair." Sonic looked upwards with a sad glance, of which looked odd on the hero, and continued with, "when I was little, around eleven, I think, I would stay up all night to blow up some of Eggman's factories. Most of the times I couldn't really get back to my home, so I'd sleep on trees, or anywhere else I could."

"Why would you take it upon yourself to do that? You were still a child." Shadow was seriously confused. Why would an eleven year old bomb Eggman's factories?

"You wouldn't remember this, Shadow, but there was a time when Eggman used real living beings to power his robots. Most people would be scared, upset, or maybe sad, but if I'm to be honest, I was enraged. Just using a life like that, it was wrong, and no one else was willing to try to stop him, so I did, and risked my life on it multiple times. I just couldn't let him get away with it." Sonic elaborated.

Right as Shadow was about to respond, his communicator beeped. Shadow was supposed to be on leave. This shouldn't be happening. Shadow answered, to be met with Rouge's voice. She said that she got an alert, and she wanted Sonic to know that Eggman was attacking the city. He found it odd that Rouge wouldn't come in here to say that, but then he remembered that she was at G.U.N. H.Q.

At hearing what Rouge said, Sonic visibly tensed and let out a small growl. "He just never gives up, does he?" Sonic growled in contempt.

Shadow was seeing many things he never thought he'd see in the blue hero. Anger, annoyance, and contempt. This was all new, and kind of weird, if Shadow were to be honest. But he also had to admit that knowing this information made everything feel so much more real. Him and Sonic in the same room, not at each other's throats, but having a deep conversation over their own emotions.

"I probably have to go. Everyone will think I've abandoned them if I don't get there in a few minutes." 

Sonic started walking away, towards the door. Sonic paused before turning the handle to leave, and asked if Shadow would be okay. Shadow stated that he would, so Sonic opened the door and zoomed off at speeds no other being besides the two of them could handle.

Shadow was left on the air mattress as Sonic left. Shadow turned himself so the he would not impale the air mattress, and fell down onto it. He really did not want Rouge to yell at him for ruining it. 

Shadow soon began to notice an itch in the back of his mind. This itch kept growing until it spoke to Shadow like instinct.

Something just kept telling him to go after Sonic. He didn't know why, maybe he was going insane? Whatever it was, he couldn't ignore it. He finally decided to listen, and went out the door after Sonic, even though he knew Sonic was long gone by then. Strangely though, his chaos energy was cooperating with him.

Shadow located Sonic easily. Sonic's own massive store of chaos energy acted as a beacon. As Shadow neared Sonic's location, he began to see signs of a struggle. Shadow kept following Sonic's signature, until he found the hero, all of his friends, and a terrifying robot. It look like it came straight out of people's nightmares. And looking at some of the civilians faces, it probably did.

The next thing Shadow noticed was the overwhelming stench of blood; all too familiar to him. 

Then he noticed Sonic being thrown across the block. When Sonic landed on the asphalt, he tried to get back up, but his arms had failed him. The doctor just laughed maniacally, as if the situation was actually hilarious. That's when Shadow stepped into view.

Sonic's friends, now cornered, looked at him as if his as if his arrival was absolutely unbelievable. It most likely was, to them. Shadow had finally found someone that was both willing to talk to him, and listen to his problems, and ironically enough, he was not about to lose that. He lunged at the doctor's contraption, wrapped his arms around what appeared to be a head, and harshly twisted, causing a snapping sound. Shadow cut the last few wires connected the body to the head. The doctor still keeps the main functions in the same place. The head. This was the benefit of working with him for a small period of time, though that was because of his own misconceptions about the people of this world.

The doctor looked at Shadow with fear, which was quickly replaced with anger. The doctor's face was now splotched with red, and he waved his fists in the air yelling something about how he will be back, but Shadow wasn't really listening. There was something much more important to deal with at the moment.

Shadow skated over to the spot on the road that Sonic occupied to check his health. By now, Sonic had slipped into unconsciousness. Shadow could see that Sonic had major bruising on his torso, multiple cuts around his body, and a broken arm. Shadow knew what he would do, he just had to make preparations. 

He pressed a code into his communicator, to be met with a feminine "hello?" From the other side of the line.

"Rouge, be prepared to pick me and one other passenger up at the site of the attack."

"On it."

Shadow pressed both of his palms against Sonic's chest, ignoring the surprised gasps of his friends, and began healing the hero. He didn't like healing, whether it be his own accelerated rate, or healing others, it always left him exhausted.

First to heal were the cuts, they scared over and then slowly closed until they weren't visible at all. Next was the bruising. And finally, the arm. Shadow spent the most time on the arm. Probably around five or so minutes, and once he finished, he immediately blacked out. Healing others was always much more forceful on his body than healing himself. His last conscious thought was hoping for his ride to arrive soon.

Shadow woke up on his bed. It didn't take him long to figure out what had happened, giving his current painful state. He looked over his shoulder to find Sonic also there. He panicked for a moment. Why was Sonic in his bed?

"Relax Shadow. I put him there. I have to keep a close watch on you and blue, and it would be rude to shove you back where you slept last night. Especially in your current condition." Rouge spoke up, calming Shadow slightly. "Just going to say though, Shadow, have fun explaining this to his friends. I can't really speak for you here." Shadow immediately tensed.

Shadow decided that he'd worry about that later, which was very uncharacteristic of him, and instead focus on the well being of Sonic. Accelerated healing can have some side effects on other people, considering that it was less him speeding up the healing process, but rather injecting chaos energy. He knew he wouldn't have to worry that much, as Sonic was also a user of the chaos emeralds, but he thought it best to try.

With that, Rouge left the room.

Sonic coughed, and then opened his eyes. "What happened?"

At this point, Shadow had leaned back into a reclined position, observing Sonic carefully, when he responded, "I had to heal you."

At that, Sonic made a face of surprise, and quickly after, a face of dawned realization. Sonic looked over himself expecting to see injuries, only to see none at all. "Wow! They're all gone! What did you do?"

"I simply used my chaos abilities. Though now I have to explain to all your friends why the heck I did in the first place."

"Oh, uh sorry! Just say that you had a race scheduled tomorrow, or you owed me, or something." Sonic responded.

"Anyway, are you okay? From what I can currently see, we spent a good five hours passed out."

"Wait. Don't tell me..."

"Yes, Sonic. Rouge put us both in here."

"So this is your bed?"

"Yes." Shadow tried to conclude Sonic's curiosity with a harsher tone. As if that would work. This was Sonic he was talking about.

"So we slept togeth-"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Shadow stated with a commanding finality.

"Oh. Sorry if that was awkward." Sonic smiled sheepishly after finishing his apology.

"Anyway, you're probably hungry." Shadow took note of the excitement in Sonic's eyes when he heard this.

"Do you have any apples?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, Rouge is particularly fond of them, so I make sure to buy them, though they are a little bitter to me." Shadow answered.

"Wait, apples are bitter to you? They are like extremely sweet. Not that I'm judging, I just find it kind of funny." Sonic chuckled.

Shadow ignored the statement and went to get some apples and water. When he returned, he gave them to Sonic.

Once Sonic finished eating, Shadow took the empty bottle, and the apple cores to the trash. Along the way, he met with Rouge who said it was best if they just went to sleep. It was already pretty late when they had woken up. Rouge also demanded he not sleep on the couch that night, worried that it would worsen Shadow's exhaustion. She also made it clear that after the previous night, she wasn't too worried about what could happen. She also said that someone needed to keep an eye on Sonic, and judging by how she'd have to leave early in the morning, Shadow had to take the job.

Shadow came back to Sonic to tell him the slightly awkward news, and surprisingly, Sonic didn't really seem to mind. At this point though, Shadow was pretty much falling asleep, so he just promised himself that he'd ask why in the morning, and laid down in the bed to sleep.

Shadow turned around, facing away from Sonic, and waited for him to hear the soft snores of the other, before finally giving his body the satisfaction of sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m which Shadow is very confused.

Shadow woke to an undeniable warmth surrounding him, as if an extra warm fluffy blanket on a cool night. He already could tell that the situation was false, however, due to the texture of the warmth. It was soft, but still not comparable to his fluffy blankets. 

Shadow glanced over to the clock on his nightstand. 6:00. Later than he usually woke up, but still fairly early. Shadow knew he should get up and eat breakfast before he was scolded by Rouge for not eating in his current condition. When Shadow tried to get up, though, he was met with heavy resistance by something trying to drag him back into his bed.

For just a moment, Shadow imagined the worst possible situation that could explain the force that wouldn't let him leave. He looked over his shoulder to try and confirm his position, only to see blue fur, and a fawn pair of arms expertly wrapped around his back, as if they had maneuvered through quills plenty of times. Judging by the identity of this blue creature, they almost certainly had.

Why Shadow instantly calmed down at noticing the identity of the blue blur, he did not know. Was it perhaps the odd tranquility he currently felt after the initial shock? Was it the fact that him and the hero and come to a mutual agreement that they would both confide in each other? Shadow couldn't discern the reason, and, at the moment, he didn't want to ruin the peaceful mood he was in by wondering about things that he wouldn't be able to figure out.

How Shadow wished he had asked more about feelings and emotions up on the ARK.

Maybe then, Shadow could've had at least a clue of what was going on. 

It was then that Shadow realized that he was going to ask why Sonic wasn't the least hesitant the previous night, or why Sonic wasn't bothered at all by the message that Shadow had to convey by Rouge. Sonic wasn't really used to waking up so early though, so Shadow carefully pried Sonic's arms off of himself, and left Sonic to sleep while Shadow retrieved his breakfast.

While Shadow usually did anything to achieve his goals, even by doing some unethical or immoral actions, he wasn't usually one to reward himself for nothing, however, sometimes, he did feel a little entitled. It wasn't just his self pride, or ego on these days, but the thought that he deserved something more than hatred. This very thought is what led him to the small pantry, and eventually to the box of miniature gummy bears. He made sure not to turn many lights on. They were annoying this early in the morning.

Shadow sat down on the couch, and very carefully sorted the gummy bears by flavor. Shadow was very picky with his food, so many of the flavors he would refuse to eat. Shadow only ate the strawberry and pineapple gummy bears. He would leave the rest for someone else. Like Rouge.

Many would ask why he did this, and he would simply respond, "every other flavor is too strong."

Even though Shadow was currently focused on his task of sorting and eating the gummy bears, his mind couldn't help but wander back to his odd predicament. Why did his chaos work sometimes, but not all of the time? What was this tranquility? Shadow had an aching feeling in his gut that Rouge knew, but there were two problems with trying to ask her. First, she was working full time to make up for his absence, and second, she would never tell him what she was thinking. She liked to lie by omission. She didn't really like conjuring up a lie, but she loved to leave things out of her truths. This was true with everyone, even if for different reasons. Shadow still couldn't tell if she just liked seeing him in pain, or if she thought it'd be best if he learned himself. 

Shadow didn't have anytime to think about anything else when the lights suddenly switched on. A hunched figure, that Shadow didn't previously notice, was standing outside his doorframe, with their hand hovering by the switch. Almost immediately after the lights flickered to life, Shadow shielded his eyes. He also began to notice an oncoming migraine. Before anything got any worse, Shadow grabbed a water bottle, two tablets of ibuprofen, making sure that he snapped the second in half, as to take the correct dose, and a small bowl of wheat thins.

Shadow opened the water bottle, took a sip, and then took the ibuprofen. Not long after, Sonic had come to sit on the couch next to Shadow, and then apologized profusely, as he had already guessed what happened. Soon, Shadow had downed the entire bottle, and only had a few wheat thins left in the bowl.

"Sonic, how did you wake up?" Shadow asked politely, covering the left side of his head, with his face contorted in pain.

"I don't know. Just kinda felt like something was missing. Like something that was there was just gone. Are you going to be okay?" Sonic drawled out naturally, with his tone growing concerned when he asked his question.

"Just give it ten minutes. I left around 6:00, so that's probably what you're referring to." Shadow responded.

"Wait, what?" Sonic commented in pure confusion.

"I didn't know you had a habit of grabbing onto anything you can when you sleep. Including me." Shadow responded with a wave of his hand.

"I don't, well, not that I know of. Wait?! I did that?! Sorry!" 

"On that note, I've been meaning to ask. Why didn't you mind when I told you our sleeping arrangement last night?" Shadow questioned, hoping to get some information out of Sonic.

Sonic simply shrugged and tilted his head, which clearly communicated an 'I don't know'. So much for a direct answer. However, after a few moments of thought, Sonic decided to actually answer.

"I guess anything is better than sleeping on more trees."

"If you don't like sleeping on trees, why do you still do it?"

"I guess I just never really feel safe enough to let down my guard. It is a lot easier to quickly react when you don't have to run through a house."

"I guess that makes sense. But you really didn't mind having to sleep in my bed again?"

"Like I said, anything is better." Sonic finished the conversation. For some reason, Shadow couldn't help but feel disappointed, and he didn't even know why. He could feel something stirring within him. His chaos was agitated. But why? Shadow wondered.

"Yo, Shads, you okay?" Sonic asked, before placing his hand on Shadow's shoulder. 

"I'm perfectly fine." Shadow said with a harsh, gruff voice. Shadow turned his body so that he wasn't facing Sonic, and crossed his arms.

As the minutes filled with unwanted silence continued to pass, Shadow's chaos just got more and more aggravated. Soon his chaos felt more like a raging fire than anything else.

Shadow gripped his arms tighter, and grit his teeth. This pain was becoming unbearable. It was then that his eyes started to water, and everyone knew that one of the things Sonic hated most, were tears.

Shadow was sure that Sonic had noticed his pain, and his suspicion was only confirmed when dawn arms wrapped around him, and he heard a small, "it looked like you needed a hug."

"Why did you ju-" Shadow was cut off.

"Because I care." Sonic interrupted. "And you can't lie, you made it obvious that you cared yesterday when you saved me."

After Sonic said that, all the pain melted away, and his chaos calmed, leaving that warm, enjoyable tranquility. Shadow lost any stiffness that remained in his body. He could feel himself losing to the pull of sleep, but he was comfortable, so he let himself fall.

Shadow woke many hours later, and noticed he was no longer on the couch. Someone has moved him, and judging by the arms still encircling him and the light snoring, it was Sonic.

Shadow turned his head slightly to notice that Sonic had also fallen asleep. 

Even though Shadow knew he probably should get something done, like cleaning the apartment, or grocery shopping, he desperately just wanted to stay in the bed.

It was then that Sonic moved even closer to Shadow, and his snoring suddenly stopped. Sonic was still asleep however. Shadow didn't have much time to contemplate Sonic's sudden lack of snoring, before another wave of the tranquility hit him, trying to lull him back to sleep.

Shadow's communicator beeped. It was Rouge, like usual.

"Hey Shadow, could you go to the store and buy some more apples? We're out."

"Last night we had five more apples."

"I know."

"So you are telling me, that you ate those five apples this morning before you left for G.U.N.?

"Yes."

"Rouge." Shadow simply replied, putting his hand to the side of his face. "Fine, I'll go. Let me wake Sonic up."

"Thanks Shadow!"

The call ended, and Shadow was already in an annoyed mood, that was likely to last for the rest of the day.

"Sonic." Shadow said calmly, gently shaking Sonic side to side.

"Shadow?" Sonic said groggily.

"We have to go to the store. Rouge ate all the apples."

"Okay. Can I have five more minutes?" Sonic said innocently, mocking the tone of a tired child.

"No. We're going now."

Shadow and Sonic started on their walk, just conversing about random topics.

"So, how did dealing with Amy go? She looked furious."

"Not the best. She got mad that I ditched her, even though I didn't want to be there in the first place. I got a few hits from a hammer, and she threatened to kill you the next time she saw you."

"Oh. She didn't though. I really am not looking forward to seeing your friends though. I'll have to explain why I helped you, and everyone will think I'm going soft."

"They won't. Why don't you be honest? Well, kinda honest. You can leave out the chaos problems and just say we came to a mutual agreement." Sonic suggested.

"You just said I should lie to them last night."

"I was tired, okay?" 

Before the two knew it, they had arrived to the grocery store.

After the two had picked up an adequate amount of apples, they passed thorough the candy isle. Something in the isle caught Shadow's interest, however.

"They haven't had these in forever." Shadow pointed towards the gummy bear section at single-flavor jars. 

Shadow immediately stepped over to the jars, and grabbed the pineapple variant and the strawberry variant.

Sonic simply glanced at Shadow with amusement, before saying, "you know, maybe I should pick up some mint candy for Tails. He loves the stuff. Or maybe I should get him a new science book or something. I'm pretty sure he finished that astrophysics one a little while ago. He has said he's had an interest in cyphers and codes lately."

"I have a book on cyphers if he's interested. They are actually rather intriguing. Let me tell you first off, the Ceaser cypher is boring, and far too easy to decode." Shadow paused for a moment before saying, "cyphers were probably one of the only parts of G.U.N. training that I actually enjoyed."

"They never seem to use this stuff, do they? It's all shoot first, ask later with them. If you don't enjoy it, why do you do it?"

"They'll seal me away again if I don't." Shadow responded to Sonic's question with a melancholic air.

"Blackmail?! That's terrible, Shadow! When I get to them I'll-"

"What would you do? We all know that you refuse to kill, and anything else will earn you a spot in jail over the excuse of 'treason'." Shadow interrupted harshly. "They've already detained you for a false controversy, imagine if they had actual proof?"

"You have a point." Sonic hesitated before saying, "let's just check out the candy and the apples and get back. Either way, I will still probably have to check on Tails."

"I'll go with you to Tails' place."

"You will?"

"Yes. The sooner I get my explanations over with, the better."

Sonic and Shadow dropped off the majority of their groceries at Rouge's apartment, save for the mint candy, and Shadow grabbed his book on ciphers to bring to the fox.

The two had walked over to Tails' place, simply slowing down to enjoy the nice weather. When they had actually arrived, Shadow let out a small sigh, just proven how nervous he was. Seeing this, Sonic put his hand on the other's shoulder to calm Shadow at least slightly.

Sonic set down the bag, and used his newly freed hand to knock on the door of the rather dainty house. The house was painted a mustard yellow, however the paint had faded over the years it had been standing. 

Sonic leaned over to pick up the bag again, and took a step back, as he advised Shadow to do the same. The door swung open- towards the outside- as Shadow had not failed to notice. Even from his limited knowledge of architecture, he knew that a front door usually swings towards the inside.

"Oh, Sonic! You're back!" A voice from inside the house answered before shifting its gaze to the being standing to the left of Sonic. "Shadow?"

"Hey buddy! Shadow is accompanying me for now. Anyway, I got you a gift!" Sonic then handed the bag to the yellow fox, who was visibly covered in some sort of oil.

Shadow wordlessly handed his book of ciphers to Sonic, before mumbling something about how he wouldn't let Tails touch it if his hands were still covered in oil.

"Okay... something is going on here. Usually you two would be trying to kill each other by now. I'm assuming that this has something to do with that call from Rouge a few days ago, and then that incident with Eggman yesterday." The two-tailed fox inquired.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you are very perceptive. Me and Sonic just came to a mutual agreement." Shadow answered in a slight monotone, as if he were reading from a script.

"If it we're just a 'mutual agreement' like you say it is, you two still wouldn't be having slumber parties. What is going on?" Tails said the first part with a tone not that far of from the likes of sarcasm. 

Shadow heard a muffled 'I taught him so well' from Sonic, before Sonic turned towards him and said, "look, as this point, if you don't tell him now, he will figure it out on his own." 

"Fine." Shadow's eyes showed hesitation, and even slight fear. "I've been having some trouble with my chaos recently..." Oh how Shadow hated admitting defeat, and this, in his eyes, was definitely admitting defeat.

Why did he admit that? He never would have down that under normal circumstances. Is this Sonic's doing?

It was at that point that Shadow's anger flared slightly. "Are you going to let us in, or are you going to keep us outside this entire time?!" Shadow growled out. Even if he had found someone to confide in, everything was starting to feel like a little too much. Shadow noticed a tinge of throbbing pain starting to form behind his left eye. Great. Perfect time for that migraine to come back.

"If I let you in, you are going to tell me more about this situation." That's it. He was definitely doing this for his own enjoyment.

Tails led them into the house before shutting the door, and choking off the mid-afternoon light.

They sat down on a beige, worn couch, before Tails sad, "alright. Let's begin."

And that's when Shadow knew that this day would probably be so much worse than he was thinking.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone tell Tails to clean his house, it’s just begging for lawsuits.

Two things became apparent to Shadow after he sat down. First, the overwhelming stench of coffee, and second, the absolute mess that was Tails' house. There was clutter everywhere. The worst part of the mess, however, was how the floor was so littered with screws, bolts, and metal scraps that it could easily classify as a minefield. The sight of the clutter made Shadow inwardly cringe. Instantly, he was filled with stress that had nowhere to go. 

Shadow immediately stood up and started pacing without thinking. He had to work away some of his stress before he could say or really do anything at all.

It was then that Shadow did step on a small pile of screws. He initially flailed his arms before losing all balance and falling forward.

Before Shadow's face would have inevitably hit the floor, which would have no doubt caused numerous cuts from the scraps lining the floor, something caught him.

"Woah! Slow down there Shads!" Sonic had caught him. "Sure you may have fast healing, but trust me, that would've been one nasty fall."

"Now I know something is wrong." The two-tailed fox interrupted the situation unfolding before his eyes.

With careful consideration, Shadow decided to take a risk, and formulate a retort. "What tells you something is wrong?" The icy tone that bled into Shadow's voice sent shivers down both Tails' and Sonic's spines.

"Please do not scare the eight year old in the room, Shadow."

The yellow vulpine sent a harsh glance towards the blue hedgehog, and shouted out, "stop treating me like a little kid!"

Shadow viewed the event with mild amusement, also not failing to notice the mischievous chuckle that escaped Sonic's lips.

Tails let complete silence encompass the room, the tension in his small form evident to anyone adept at seeing the signs of stress. Shadow could understand why Tails felt uneasy, after all, it could be assumed that such brotherly banter was usual, but a complete lack of violence in regards to Shadow and Sonic was simply unheard of. 

As Shadow was sorting through his memories from the past few days, he realized something. Sonic didn't even try to push him away. Sonic came over when he was asked. What was it that Sonic had said? 'Look, Shadow. I'm not here to hurt you, or taunt you. I was told to come here, and I figured it probably had something to do with you, especially after you told me that you lived here. I just came here because I care for your wellbeing,' Shadow thought it was.

Wellbeing aside, why would Sonic come over when he knew it had something to do with him? Shadow's eyes widened in realization. Sonic had wanted to. Sonic had wanted to spend time with him on that day with the beach. Sonic had wanted to come when Rouge called.

"Shadow, you okay?" Sonic asked worriedly, glancing over his shoulder at Shadow.

Shadow attempted to change the subject. "I'm fine. Tails still needs to wash his hands before I allow him to get anywhere near the book." 

"Wait. A book, for me, from Shadow? This is getting weird." 

"Please stop." Shadow was starting to feel self-conscious. He never felt self-conscious. Was Tails judging him?

"Shadow. You're okay. Tails is probably one of the safest people to tell." Sonic said in a comforting tone.

"You're right. Hopefully. I still don't trust Rouge's smirk. If I'm to be honest, it terrifies me."

It was then that Tails interjected again with, "I'm pretty sure her smirk would terrify anyone. With this book you mentioned, what is it about?"

"Cyphers. I've read through it multiple times. It's actually really interesting. Just know that I expect it back when you finish with it."

"Wait, how did you know I wanted-" Tails was interrupted by Sonic.

"I told him. Now please go wash your hands before you touch the book. I really doubt either of us would ever be forgiven if that book gets ruined." Sonic advised.

"I might..." Shadow whispered so quietly that no one but himself heard his words.

Tails, by the sounds of it, had hurriedly peeled off his gloves, washed his hands, put on a new pair, and rushed back out to the living room.

Shadow very hesitantly told Sonic to hand Tails the book.

"So Shadow, about your current predicament..."

"You know, it had been awhile since you saw Sonic, right Tails?" Shadow interjected.

"I don't appreciate your stalling, but now that I think about it, I do actually have something important to tell Sonic."

"Yes, buddy?" Sonic voiced inquisitively.

"That data you asked for about a year back, I have finally collected enough to come up with a reasonable conclusion." Tails said before hurrying off to his study, no doubt to grab papers and charts.

When Tails returned, he turned his face towards Shadow before saying, "you are going to have to leave, Shadow." Shadow looked at the Fox with an incredulous glare before hastily standing up to stride away in confidence.

"Actually Tails, I have a feeling that this data may help him with his current dilemma also." Sonic's tone and diction suddenly grew formal, as if he were now discussing a very serious topic. The seriousness he took this situation with was surprising coming from the hyperactive, happy-go-lucky hedgehog. Tails noticed Shadow's sudden apprehension towards the situation and Sonic's tone before giving Shadow a 'this is normal' glance.

"Alright, Shadow, you can stay." Tails unfolded a bar graph. "This is the day-by-day data on your chaos energy about after a month of you asking me to monitor it, Sonic." Sonic looked at Tails with a serious glance that could only communicate a very clear 'go on.' "I'm glad you came to me when you did. I mean sure, you definitely could have come a year earlier when you noticed your chaos energy acting up. It would have been nice to know, especially with the reason that we believed caused the unbalance in the first place."

"Unbalance? Caused by what?" Inquired Shadow.

"After Sonic was jettisoned from the ARK in that capsule rigged to explode, Sonic used a fake chaos emerald to chaos control out at the last moment."

"Elaborate." Shadow commanded with a strict tone, the interest that reflected back from his eyes mirrored those of a snake that had just found fresh prey.

"I designed that fake emerald myself. No machine could tell the difference, it was cloaked in such a way to disguise its natural energy field. There was one major difference, however. The ratio of positive chaos energy and negative energy had been purposefully reversed, meaning that there was more negative energy than positive. When Sonic used this emerald, we believe that it messed with his natural energy levels, because he said that it had felt weird ever since then." Tails has begun to ramble.

Sonic had begun to fidget impatiently, still waiting for Tails to go on and tell him his final conclusion. Shadow could tell this much.

In a brief moment Shadow connected some of his dots. Even Sonic could obviously still function and use chaos energy, unlike Shadow, a being that could run on it alone, the two were actually having a very similar problem. Similar, yet still opposite. While Shadow would randomly lose control of his energy, and would be unable to use it at all, Sonic, according to the graphed information, kept having bouts of very high levels of energy. For Sonic, it was controllable, but alarming none the less. 

"Sonic, through numerous tests and hypotheses, I have finally found a direct correlation." Tails stated.

"Please continue." Sonic commanded with a harsh glaze.

"O-of course!" Tails suddenly seemed much more hesitant, as he stuttered over his own words, more tension leaking into his suddenly, smaller form. "There seems to be a direct correlation between your levels of chaos energy and your current emotional state. It leads me to believe that chaos energy is controlled by the state of the user's heart. It would definitely explain one part of the ancient echidna prayer. 'Chaos is power... power enriched by the heart.' After looking into this possibility, though, it became apparent to me that the initial cause of this unbalance may have been something else along with the use of the fake emerald!" Tails, despite the tension still obvious, suddenly seemed much more exited, no doubt because of the prospect of a puzzle that could actually offer him a challenge.

"Well, do you have any idea of what originally caused the unbalance other than the fake emerald?" Sonic asked, his tone laced with curiosity, all hints of the previous harshness thrown out the window, though he still spoke with an unusual formality that still made Shadow confused.

"Actually, I have no idea, Sonic." Shadow realized that the fox must have noticed the change in Sonic's demeanor as well, and had accordingly adjusted. "Anyway, Shadow, you said you were also having trouble with your chaos energy?" Shadow noticed that, despite the eight year old's attempt at seeming mature, a childish glimmer still made itself visible in the fox's eyes, and an undertone of bright cheerfulness hidden in his words.

After realizing that Sonic was also having trouble with his chaos energy, and had trusted the fox enough to tell him, Shadow finally made the decision to trust the fox. If Sonic had trusted Tails enough to tell him a year ago, and Tails had actually tried to help him, Shadow couldn't see why not to trust him. "Yes. Though according to your data, it seems to be the opposite problem. I don't know exactly what is going on, but it seems like my chaos energy just randomly starts to rebel against me."

"Rebel? What do you mean, Shadow?" Tails was now completely relaxed.

"It starts to feel like it's attacking me. Like it's stabbing and burning me." Shadow answered vaguely. "Rouge might be able to answer better. Everything during the pain is kind of a haze."

"You don't seem to be in pain right now. When was the last time you felt this way?"

"I think it was... two days ago? When I woke up." Shadow responded, a hint of hesitation evident in his tone.

Tails' eyes glossed over with thought, the gears turning in his head, before doubling over with silent laughter, pressing his muzzle into the back cushion of the well-worn couch. After Tails had finished his laughing fit (which lasted a good two minutes, each passing second filled with the two hedgehogs' confusion), he straitened his spine and wiped off the tears forming in the corners of his eyes with his snow-white gloves.

"Sorry about that, I just realized something. Anyway, Shadow, would you mind me giving you a chaos energy tracker too? Sonic currently has one embedded in the back of his left shoe." Tails elaborated, adding unnecessary information that one could definitely go without.

"At this point, as long as this issue is solved, I wouldn't mind anything. You just said you realized something, could you possibly tell us?" Shadow said the first sentence with a light, higher pitched tone to convey any gratefulness that he might have to give in the future, and the second sentence with a monotone drawl, and a sharp glare reflected in his blood red eyes.

"Oh, thanks!" The thankfulness in Tails' words again illustrated his need for a challenge that was not solved quite as easy as many others. "But, uh... I'm kind of sorry, but I can't really tell you much. It'd probably be better if you figured it out on your own." 

Shadow let out a frustrated huff. He knew Rouge had been acting suspicious recently, and now that even the fox had figured out something he wasn't willing to tell, Shadow could finally say he knew that the bat was hiding something. Even though the fox and the bat think differently, the reasoning the fox gave him could rule out the 'Rouge just wants to see him suffer' for his reasons about why Rouge wouldn't tell him what she was hiding.

The fox went and got a small tracker, no doubt rigged to track chaos energy, and placed it on the inside of the cuff on Shadow's shoe, meanwhile, however, Shadow still remained in a trance like state, thinking over everything that had recently happened to try and figure out what both the fox and the bat knew.

"Mobius to Shadow!" Sonic jokingly shouted in the black hedgehog's ear as the hero put his hand on the other's shoulder.

The tranquility was back. The intense calm overwhelmed Shadow, and filled him with something much akin to joy. It was surprising and shocking to Shadow, and he immediately flinched and jumped away from Sonic, as he muttered a quiet "What the!"

Shadow turned his head back towards Sonic, his pupils wide, keeping a tight hold on his shoulder. Sonic simply stared at him, with an expression that read, 'are you okay?'

"Sorry." Shadow simply stated, not wanting to tell Sonic about that sensation.

"Shadow! Your chaos levels! They suddenly elevated themselves!" Tails shouted, his head over his shoulder, the fox himself seated at a rolling chair stationed at a very advanced computer, now showing the chaos levels of the two hedgehogs, and some other details.

Sonic looked at Shadow curiously, his eyes gleaming with confusion before asking, "did I do that?"

"I don't know." Shadow sighed, knowing that after Tails' proclamation, he was going to have to explain what happened to him after Sonic simply touched him. The one thing he didn't want to do. 

Seeing the sudden awkwardness in the gaze of the other hedgehog, and his sudden nervous behavior, Sonic simply said, "so I did." Shadow jolted in his spot before turning his head away from Sonic shyly.

Tails snickered, catching Shadow's attention. "What?" Shadow asked, trying to be as intimidating as possible, to scare the fox. Shadow, at this point, was severely uncomfortable with the current situation.

Sonic, no doubt noticing the sudden stress in Shadow's form, decided to try and give the other a hug. While it did lessen the stress Shadow felt, Shadow couldn't help but be afraid by the joy he once again felt.

"So, Sonic. You can stay with Shadow again if you want." Tails suggested, trying his best not to sound like he was trying to push them away, but rather like advice that could help in the future.

"Are you trying to kick me out?" Sonic asked Tails in a teasing tone.

"No, Sonic." Shadow noticed Tails gulp, as if he were about to take a risk, "I can't help but notice how much calmer Shadow has been, maybe you are doing him some good." Tails suddenly cowered, afraid that he would be hit by something, like a chaos spear.

"You know, maybe you're right! Shadow, I hope you don't mind me tagging along for a bit longer."

"Fine. Hopefully Rouge doesn't object. She is technically the owner of the apartment." Shadow's tone suddenly took in an uncharacteristic hint of worry.

"Eh, she won't mind!" Just leave it to Sonic to completely disregard any boundaries.

"Hey Shadow, you wanna race back?"

Shadow glanced at Sonic before lifting his brow. "You're on."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow has a late lesson about mobian formalities.

Before the two sped off, Sonic and Shadow had to navigate through the maze of scraps again. Once they made their way back to the front door, Sonic opened the outward-swinging door with caution.

The two had passed the threshold of the door merely a millisecond before speeding off towards Rouge's apartment, located in the thick of Station Square. 

The race went rather smoothly, despite the usual competitive nature of theirs', the race was pretty lax, with neither really trying too hard to win. 

The two decided to take a detour through a nearby forest, when Shadow realized what he had got himself into. He had literally just agreed to have his chaos energy tracked. He hadn't even asked about any privacy concerns! Shadow started slightly panicking, slowly coming to a stop as he did. Sonic, of course, took notice to the dwindling speed of the other, and sensed his concerns.

"Look, if this is about the tracker, it's perfectly safe. Trust me, if it wasn't, Eggman, and probably everyone else, would already know about my predicament. Im fairly sure that not even Rouge knows, and we all know how great of a hacker she is." Sonic slowed to a stop as well to comfort the anxious hedgehog.

Shadow was noticeably less anxious after Sonic comforted him, but a thought struck the ebony. Why was Sonic having such an effect on him? He knew it probably had something to do with Tails' earlier observation, and of course the uncanny tranquility, but Shadow really didn't want to think about it. 

"So, uh... Shadow?" Sonic asked nervously, tapping his two index fingers together.

"Hmm?" Shadow already knew what Sonic was going to ask, unfortunately.

Shadow knew what was coming, but he still couldn't really prepare for the question. "About earlier, when I uh... touched your shoulder? What happened back there?" 

Shadow's face went blank, obviously having trouble answering.

"I mean, you don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable." Sonic's voice was gentle, and caring. He used a calming tone that Shadow noticed he really only used with Tails. This elicited a reaction from Shadow.

"Seriously, why are you always being so considerate towards me! I don't get it!" Shadow screeched, confused and even slightly afraid. The sudden outburst was unexpected to Sonic, who jumped slightly.

"Shadow..." Sonic paused, reaching his hand towards the other, before the ebony flinched away, fear evident in his eyes. 

Sonic cast his eyes down and sighed. "Because I care about you, and I refuse to believe you are a monster." Sonic responded frankly, surprising Shadow somewhat.

"I understand if you don't want to tell me, but I just want to help you." Sonic looked Shadow dead in the eyes, gaze softening slightly.

Shadow breathed out heavily through his nose. How could he possibly tell Sonic? Something inside of him desperately wanted to tell Sonic, but he couldn't formulate the right words. Even though the sudden cloudiness in his head, Shadow still tried to tell Sonic. "Not even I really know what it was. It was just... extremely sudden."

Sonic took a step backwards. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Sonic's eyes counted a look of horror, as if he was actually afraid that was the case.

Shadow quickly interjected. "No no no... that's not it. It's just..." Shadow took a deep breath. He didn't want any more troubling misconceptions. "Quite the opposite." Shadow Closed his eyes, prepared for ridicule. 

"So I didn't hurt you? That's a relief." Sonic leaned down to do a few stretches, easing the tension out of his muscles. Sonic, evidently noticing the tension in Shadow's form, continued with, "so how about we continue this conversation once we get back, or in the morning? Whichever's most comfortable." Sonic stood up, and offered Shadow his hand.

Shadow took the offer. It was already getting pretty late, and he felt it would be best to allow him, and Sonic, he remembered fairly easily, the luxury of sleep.

As the two kicked off again, earthy dirt was thrown up into the air, smelling of nature and moisture. The leaves on the trees rustled, and wind flowed through the cracks as if to whistle.

The two rushed through the city in a blur, only slowing when a pedestrian was spotted crossing the street. The two stayed mainly invisible, usually only noticeable by the trails of wind that followed in their wake.

It wasn't long until the two ended up on the stone doorstep of Rouge's apartment. Shadow retrieved a key from his quills, and fumbled around with the lock before unlocking the door, and allowing it to swing open.

Shadow walked in, leading Sonic in with false bravado, and quickly, yet quietly, closed the front door.

Shadow looked at his communicator that doubled as a wristwatch. 19:11, it read. Rouge should arrive in an hour or two. Shadow still took no chances, and locked the door. Shadow took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes, betraying his own instinct to hide his exhaustion. "Maybe we should try and get some sleep."

"Sure, but how is our sleeping arrangement gunna go? I mean, we still have the air mattress." 

Shadow paused and took a moment to think. He closed his eyes, before deciding to make a rather selfless decision, or at least, Shadow thought it selfless. "You take the bed. I'll take the air mattress." 

"But Shadow, it is your bed." Sonic pointed out, ever the king of pointing out the obvious.

Shadow just coldly glared at Sonic. "What do you want? Why'd you ask in the first place if you were just going to tell me you'd take the air mattress?" Sonic flinched and shied away. It was then that the truth hit Shadow in the face like a ton of bricks. Subtle attempts at manipulation. For what, however, Shadow could not answer.

Shadow let out a long sigh, and pinched his temples. "I'll ask you again, Sonic. What do you want?" Shadow annunciated each word in the last sentence; he would not allow his actual question to go under the radar.

Sonic looked away. "Well..." 

"Sonic, please speak up."

Sonic coughed, as if about to prepare a speech, albeit very short. "Last night was... admittedly nice..." Sonic left the rest to be inferred by Shadow.

Shadow now understood why Sonic would feel hesitant. Sure, their relationship had definitely changed, and the two could no longer be pinned under 'rivals', but that still isn't something you'd ask, well, whatever they were at this point. If there was one flaw Shadow would admit to, it'd be that of overthinking, and today he'd just rather not. He would actually like to get to sleep at some point.

Shadow sighed again. It'd only be fair to let Sonic indulge just a little, after all, Sonic did help him through some of his insecurities. Yes, it would only be fair, that's it. "Fine. Go ahead." Shadow just succinctly offered. 

Sonic took a moment to process what Shadow had said, and once he finally had, a look of pure, absolutely adorable joy filled his face. Almost like a young puppy. 

Shadow wanted to question what he had just thought, but he was exhausted. Yep, no one thinks straight when exhausted, we all think and do weird things when tired. That's it.

Sonic ran to the guest bedroom, or Shadow's for the time being, and flopped heavily on the bed. He closed his eyes happily. Why Sonic would be so happy about all of this confused him. Heck, everything at this point confused Shadow, even his own behavior confused him. He found himself wishing now, more than ever, even the past few days, that he had actually looked into emotions and what they mean.

Shadow closed the door, pulled off his gloves and skates, and ran his bare hands through his quills. Sonic simply watched and did the same, neatly placing his shoes on the ground next to Shadow's skates. Sonic quickly dove under the covers after he straightened his shoes. Shadow glanced over his shoulder at Sonic in confusion. 

"You know, I forgot to mention yesterday, but..." Sonic stopped for a moment, considering what words he should use. "Either you don't know or don't really care." Sonic talked, assuming that Shadow would speak up if he just didn't care.

"Know what, may I ask?" More confusion filled Shadow's features.

"Then you really don't know. Well... mobians not wearing their gloves and shoes in front of others is usually a sign of intimacy..." Sonic squeaked and hid under the covers. "I'm sorry, I should have told you!" Sonic said, the words muffled by the covers.

Shadow suddenly felt a heat rush to his face.

Wait... what?!

Shadow took a moment to compose himself. It's obvious that Sonic wasn't worried about the 'intimacy', Sonic was more worried about Shadow's reaction. So with very careful consideration, Shadow decided to speak up. "If you're fine with it, which it seems like you are, than I am." At this, Sonic peaked his head out from under the covers.

"So... you're not mad?" Sonic asked innocently. Seriously, even if he were mad at Sonic, how could he stay mad at him?

Shadow realized what he had just thought. 'God, I really do need to get some sleep', he mused.

Shadow crawled into the bed, and under the covers. He let the sweet embrace of sleep take him... and the embrace of arms?

'Eh, whatever.' He thought, it was comfortable at least.

Shadow was having a sweet dream. It was one of those, that when you woke up, you remembered how great it was, but not what actually happened. One of those frustratingly nice dreams that can't be documented or explained, because they can't be remembered.

Shadow's dream was interrupted by a repetitive clicking sound. He rose slightly to see what was going on.

His door, which he swore he closed, was wide open, and a dark form leaned on the frame, with a camera.

"Rouge?" Shadow asked for confirmation, a dry irritability lacing his voice.

"Sorry hon. Couldn't resist, I mean, have you seen how adorable you two are?" 

'Please let this be some weird fever dream.' Shadow felt himself wishing, even though he knew everything happening was completely real. Great, now Rouge has dirt on him.

"Sorry if I woke you, hun. But don't worry, this isn't for blackmail." Rouge tried to assure; she wasn't lying, Shadow could tell.

"But... why?" Shadow asked, a haze evident, the sleep in his system causing a slight delirium.

"For my own personal collection of course!" The bat answered excitedly, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. "G'night hun!" The bad fluttered off.

One thing was for sure. Shadow was definitely going to find a way to delete those pictures.

A thought in the back of his mind bugged him. Why was he so worked up about this anyway? It's not like he cared, right?

Of course not. That's impossible.

Shadow let himself fall back asleep. He'll worry about it tomorrow.

The rest of the night was surprisingly dreamless. 

When Shadow awoke, he was face to face with Sonic.

Shadow tried to pull away, and get out of the bed, but to no avail. How in all living heck could someone have such a strong grip in their sleep?!

It was then that Shadow remembered how he woke Sonic days prior. Shadow took his one free hand, and even though he knew that he'd feel guilty to some degree, harshly shoved Sonic. At least it worked.

Sonic saw how he was holding Shadow, and jumped backwards a little. He buried his face in his hands, and muttered a quiet, "sorry".

The two were about to get up when Rouge practically stampeded in the room. 

"Rouge, aren't you supposed to be at-" Rouge cut Shadow off.

"Day off hun. The commander wanted me to look after you today, because he says that if you're fit for battle, you have to go on a mission in two days." Rouge explained her situation with haste.

"So that means we should probably go see Tails again. Sure, it's been less than a day, but even that small amount of data could be useful." Sonic added, awake and alert, no doubt a result from him having to wake and focus at all hours of night to stop some attack on Mobius.

"Rather intuitive, aren't you, Big Blue?" Rouge complemented. "Anyway, just wanted to tell you. But like Sonic said, it would probably be wise to get Tails' opinion on all of this."

"Wait a moment, how do you know what we talked about with Tails?" Sonic asked, his brotherly concern growing.

"The genius gained access to the Team Dark communications line and told me about Shadow's current monitoring, saying that you likely would not tell me yourselves." Rouge stated.

The two got up and headed to the couch. Apparently Rouge decided to make waffles for breakfast, though they were Eggo waffles. She said that it's the thought that counts.

"Shadow, please don't drown your waffles in syrup." Rouge advised Shadow.

"Bit too late." Shadow had already drowned his waffles in syrup. People say that it wastes syrup, but how else are you supposed to saturate your waffles with syrup?

The three ate their meal in peace, Rouge's consisting of apples. Once they were done, and the meal was cleaned up after, Shadow headed to the pantry to grab his gummy bears.

"Hun, shouldn't you cut down on the sweets?" Rouge urged.

"What? It's not like it'll kill me. You know that." Shadow protested.

"Touché, Shadow." Rouge admitted defeat. There simply was no way to win against Shadow and his sweets, she had realized.

"Anyway, hun, your chaos seems fine right about now, why don't you try practicing with Sonic, and then head out to collect your data from Tails?" Rouge suggested.

The hedgehogs parted from the bat to go and spar for a little.

They looked around for a little, wanting to find a perfect place to spar, that was still fresh and new. The two ran through Station Square, and soon found themselves in hilly terrain. The grass was green and flowing, and there were large rocks everywhere. They laid broken up on the ground, and jutted out at awkward angles in the ground. The were sparse structures resembling Stonehenge scattered around the hilltops. 

The two silently agreed that this would be a perfect place to have their little sparring match. Quiet, fresh, and away from any civilians that could hinder them in any way.

Sonic smirked. "You ready?"

Shadow replied with dry confidence, and a hint of joy. "Always."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Play fighting and revelations. Oh, and Halo: Combat Evolved spoilers.

Sonic kicked of the ground like a rocket towards Shadow, hardly giving him enough time to dodge.

Shadow landed on a patch of overgrown grass before skating behind Sonic and tripping him with his leg. While Sonic stumbled back, Shadow jumped up and curled into a ball before aiming straight at Sonic.

Sonic recovered from being tripped fast enough to jump out of the way. Sonic jumped over Shadow's head, one leg extended, before throwing the sole of his shoe straight into Shadow's face. Sonic tossed himself backwards, both his feet landing on one of the high stone pillars, and leaped with extraordinary speed. He landed right behind Shadow, and as Shadow spun to greet him, Sonic punched him in the stomach.

Shadow would not let Sonic win, so he closed his eyes carefully, before shouting two words, "chaos spear!"

A flurry of harpoons created of pure chaos energy was met by Sonic's suddenly worried glare. It was then that Shadow could see Sonic was about to do something risky. Anyone would know that look on his face after spending just one battle with him, it was so recognizable that it could be considered his trademark, even more than that cheesy grin he put on for his fans. His glare sharpened, his posture straightened, his muscles quivered in anticipation, and his smile tugged into a perfect horizontal line, as if he were actually considering consequences, though discarding them all the same.

He smiled, obviously making up his mind.

Shadow felt a weird energy emerge in the wind. It was focused, yet wild still. It was familiar, Sonic's, Shadow realized. His chaos energy, however, was sharpened, like a fresh blade, yet with the precision of a sniper. 

The chaos spears flickered, then dispersed into the air surrounding the two.

When had Sonic learned to weaponize his chaos energy? Probably during that two years he reported it being higher than usual, Shadow realized.

"How did you do that?" Shadow dared to ask.

"To put it simply, when I used that fake chaos emerald, I realized that it was possible to use negative chaos energy. I simply cancelled out your positive energy with some negative energy." Sonic explained. It made sense. Negative chaos energy, while being that opposite of positive, still would hold the same chaos signature if used by the same person. The negative emotions required to use it would also be present in Sonic. 

"The Inverse Chaos Theory. I should have known." Shadow stopped for a moment. "Tell me, why didn't you ever do that before?" Shadow was actually curious. 

"Well," Sonic interrupted his words with a chuckle. "It takes a bit out of me. Also, I'll admit that this whole negative energy thing kinda scares me." 

"Because it requires actual negative emotions to use?" Shadow inquired. That was highly plausible.

Sonic stared blankly at Shadow, then finally answered. "Yeah, that's the reason. I keep it to a minimum to stop myself from getting to angry. After all, how do you think everyone would feel if their hero suddenly became angry at the world?"

"Understandable." Shadow simply replied. He didn't know everything about negative chaos energy, as he himself was created without the ability to use it, but he knew that overusing could fundamentally change a person.

"Anyway, why don't we put this behind us, and get back to training?" Sonic asked, a cocky tone present in his voice.

These words ignited the competition between the two. Neither were really trying to hurt the other, respect for the other present in their eyes. Before they knew it, hours had passed, and it was time to go to Tails.

Shadow felt relieved to know that he might finally understand his dilemma, but he couldn't help his anxiety from spiking. Hopefully Tails cleaned up his house. That was a major source of anxiety. But what if his problem couldn't be fixed? What if he was stuck like this forever?

"Shads. Stop overthinking things." Sonic commanded in a contradictory gentle voice.

"How did y-" Shadow attempted to say, though he was interrupted.

"That look on your face. It's pretty easy to tell." 

So Sonic could already tell apart his facial expression with ease. The only ones Shadow remembered being able to do that were Maria and Rouge. He didn't really want to question how Sonic knew how to do that. It would take far too much energy. After all, they were already exhausted from training.

The two headed towards Tails' small house in the distance, beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads. Their feet were drug across the dirt. They had fought valiantly, however, they made sure not to hurt each other. They were noticeably tired.

The hedgehogs arrived at the house, the state of the door still frustrating Shadow to an immense degree.

Sonic gently knocked on the door.

Many footsteps in quick succession were heard heading towards the door. The hedgehogs immediately stepped to the side, knowing that, if they didn't, they'd get slammed by the door.

The door flung open quickly, with the two-tailed fox standing in the doorway. His hands were clean this time. Shadow also noticed that his bangs were neatly brushed. Almost like he was expecting company, which he was.

He lead them inside, to his large computer. He pushed a few keys, and clicked the mouse a few times, before a few digital graphs popped up on the screen.

"This is you guys' data over the past day. The green line is Sonic, and the red is Shadow." The Fox was referring to a line graph. The data compiled was from the course of the last day.

"Sonic, you had a large spike of energy earlier this morning. However, like you asked me to track, it was the inverse of your usual energy. So, in other words, a large spike of negative energy." Tails pointed out.

"Yeah. I know. That was my doing." Sonic admitted sheepishly.

Tails simply face palmed. "Sonic, you know how dangerous that can be." The fox sighed. Sometimes Shadow questioned if Tails was the older brother in this dynamic.

"It might not be as dangerous if I learn how to control it!" Sonic offered, raising his voice slightly. 

"Sonic, you know how difficult it is to control. I'll be surprised if you ever learn to." Tails interjected.

"Can we move on?" Shadow asked with a dry annoyance obvious in his voice.

Sonic chuckled again.

"Yes we can." Tails answered quickly.

Tails reviewed Shadow's data and the rest of Sonic's. Turns out that, besides when Shadow used chaos spears, the data reported normal levels. It seemed like it was taunting Shadow.

"The commander wants me to go on a mission two days from now. Rouge said it would be best to get your opinion." Shadow stated politely.

Tails say for a second, hand on his chin, before looking up to look at Shadow.

"Hmm, take Sonic." Tails said in a monotone voice. 

"Wait, why?" Shadow was confused at this point, and he hated not understanding something.

Tails looked at him, simply conveying that he wasn't going to answer.

"You know what? I'm just going to give up trying to understand any of this, because it's obvious that I'm not going to get an answer from any of you." Shadow stated harshly, internally adding a 'I guess I'm going to have to find out myself' to his statement.

"Anyway, you guys should probably get lunch. After all that exertion, you're bound to be hungry." Shadow looked at Tails. "Hey, don't look at me! I don't really have anything here to make a full sized lunch."

"Tails." Sonic glared at the fox. "If you don't have anything here, you're coming with us wherever we go for lunch. A growing fox like you needs to eat." The fox shrunk under his gaze, before mumbling a quiet 'yes'.

The three headed towards the plaza in Station Square. In the end, they decided to go to the same place Sonic and Shadow had gone before. Shadow got himself a large order of mozzarella sticks, Sonic got himself the usual, a chili dog, and Tails settled for fish sticks.

They made small conversation while they ate, but generally kept talking to a minimum, that was until Shadow decided to ask the fox for a request.

"Tails. Rouge said that you've been able to break into the Team Dark communications line."

"And?"

"Do you think you can hack into Rouge's phone, and delete a few pictures for me?"

"I can hack into her phone, but I'm pretty sure deleting the pictures would be illegal."

"I'm pretty sure breaking into a government line is also illegal."

"Fine. You got me."

"Shadow." Sonic interjected. "These pictures better not be something inappropriate. Tails is eight, and you know that." 

Shadow sighed. "They aren't inappropriate in any way, just a little... embarrassing." Well, it wasn't really embarrassing to Shadow, but he felt that it would be pretty bad if it got out.

"Fine." Sonic approved. "But seriously, please don't blackmail Tails."

Both Shadow and Tails let out a laugh at that.

"Anyway, Shadow, if you come over tomorrow, I can get it done. After all, you would have to tell me what to delete."

Shadow simply nodded. A gesture meaning 'I'll be there'.

The trio finished their meals and properly disposed of their trash. They left the building, and split off. Tails headed back to his house, and the hedgehogs headed towards the apartment.

When they arrived at the concrete doorstep, they opened the door. Rouge, of course, was there. She greeted them, and then left them be for the moment.

"So, uh, you got anything to do?"

"I'm pretty sure that Rouge has an Xbox hooked up to the tv."

"Cool! What type of Xbox?"

"The original. Trust me, even though the controllers are wired, it's just as fun as the newer ones."

Sonic started sorting through a tub next to the tv stand. He found a few games, but the only one he would play was probably Halo: Combat Evolved.

Shadow knew Sonic wasn't really a gun, or mass genocide person, but he knew that he was into action games. That's probably why he chose it over the other games.

The two played the game from the beginning.

"Shadow, let me in the gunner seat! I keep accidentally driving the warthog off the map!" Sonic shouted as he accidentally drove the military vehicle down the waterfall again.

"Yeah, you suck at driving."

"I don't think I need you to tell me that." The two respawned, this time, Shadow hopping into the driver's seat, and Sonic in the gunner's seat.

The two continued playing.

Shadow pistol whipped an alien in the back, because it did more damage, as Sonic punched one. "It always does more damage if you hit them in the back." Shadow advised.

"Why does punching do so much damage in the first place? Like, it takes away your entire shield in one hit. It's kind of OP." Sonic admitted.

Shadow knew he had a point. "Well, you have to get extremely close, and aliens are pretty jumpy. They can get behind you really quick."

The two continued.

"What the heck is that!?" Sonic shouted, referring to a purple jet soaring in the sky.

"That, is a banshee. Anyway, Sonic. Focus! You seem to forget that we are still being attacked by aliens. We can deal with that later!" Shadow sniped an alien on a cliff with his pistol.

"Fine." Sonic hit a few grunts with his assault rifle.

The two played even more.

"Oh, those things are ugly." Sonic referred in disgust to a creature with an appearance similar to a brain.

"That is the flood, Sonic. They are notoriously annoying and hard to hit, unless, of course, you have a shotgun. As you see, there are different types." Shadow informed, as the different types of the flood started appearing on screen.

"Imma call those babies, that's a big momma, and that'll be called a big guy." Sonic looked at the flood and considered their attributes before naming them.

"Are you seriously naming them?" Shadow asked. Sonic nodded his head.

The two played some more.

"Why are they attacking us?!" Sonic shouted as the small aircraft that protected them began to shoot lasers at them. "I thought I could trust you little orb robot thing."

"First of all, Sonic, never trust robots, unless of course, they are Omega. Second, the flood is a parasitic race that can take over the universe. The only way to stop them is to kill their food source, AKA, us. Activating the halo will kill us all." 

"So they had to lie to us, so we would end up killing ourselves off."

"Precisely."

"At least I got to drive a banshee."

"Sonic, it's a game. You're not actually going to die. Also, if I remember correctly, we live."

"Let me be melodramatic, Shadow."

The two were about to finish the game.

"So we're in the alien base, right?" Sonic asked, the bright colors slightly disorienting.

"Yes. Just give it a moment. Ah, there it is." Shadow was referring to a giant heart-like thing in the center of the room.

"Oh that's disgusting... and kind of intriguing." Sonic surely felt nauseous now, but he couldn't keep his curiosity from sprouting.

"I know, right?" Shadow said in a playful tone.

After a while, the game ended.

"Wait, so we don't even get to know what that thing was?"

"I'm pretty sure it revealed in the second game, but I've never played it."

"That's kind of upsetting."

Shadow took the disk out of the Xbox, and placed it into the box the disk came in. He turned off the Xbox and the tv, and took the two controllers, and put them on top of the console.

Rouge walked in. "You guys done? I had no idea you even played games Shadow."

"It's only really Halo. Other first person shooters are surprisingly boring, but Halo has an engaging plot. Besides, who wouldn't love flying around in a banshee?"

Sonic interjected. "Hey Shadow, how come you're better at sniping with a pistol, than sniping with an actual sniper?" Shadow didn't have an answer, though it was indeed, ironic.

"I don't know. I think that the sniper is just too sensitive. It's hard to get on target. The pistol is nice though. It's got some power, and it can also be used close range."

"Makes sense."

They sat down on the couch to rest. They were done for the day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aw, look! Shadow cares.

The two hedgehogs sat on opposite sides of the couch. They were tired, seeing as they had a busy day, as rewarding as it had been for the both of them. Shadow had never thought he'd be able to truthfully just playfully spat with Sonic, much less sit on his couch and share his passion for a game he enjoyed. As fun as it was though, they were still tired.

Shadow sighed, exhausted. "Come on, Sonic." The blue hedgehog looked at him, confused, but very quickly understood, saving Shadow the trouble of explaining himself. Rouge simply smiled, albeit mischievously, before walking towards her room.

Shadow walked to his room, passing the hideously decorated kitchen and allowing Sonic to follow him, all the while questioning when he and Sonic had gotten so close. He couldn't think of a proper word to describe their relationship, 'close' was the only thing that sounded even remotely right, but even then, something about that label was lacking. He decided not to think about it.

A feeling of ease washed over Shadow. The feeling he had been so desperately trying to hide, simply because he couldn't understand it. Fear itself is not knowing, and not knowing is change, Shadow knew. But what was the point? Why fear the unknown when It felt so... nice?

Shadow arrived to his room, let Sonic in, and shut the door. The feeling intensified, but Sonic already knew about it, so he really had nothing more to hide. 

He removed his gloves and shoes, before crawling into the bed, Sonic shortly following.

Shadow didn't even think twice when he felt the sweet embrace of arms around his form. It just felt so... natural. On any day before this situation, Shadow would probably already have stabbed Sonic before he even stepped foot into his room, but now, Shadow couldn't really figure out his feelings for Sonic. It just... didn't compute.

Shadow stared at the ceiling for a while, just contemplating everything that had happened the past few days. Sonic, of all people, had been the first to show up when he was injured. Sonic was the first person who he had ever just sat down and ate lunch with (other than Rouge, she was more like a mother figure than anything). It didn't make sense to Shadow, but maybe he had been thinking about it wrong?

As much as Shadow wanted to try and figure out everything that was going on lately, and try to decode the things that Tails and Rouge had been saying, he did have a blue hedgehog clinging to his neck and drooling on his fur. But, contrary to his first observations, Sonic still wasn't snoring. 

Then, Sonic wrapped his arm around him tighter, clinging onto him akin to how a koala would. Though it wasn't annoying, if anything, he found it oddly comforting.

With everything they had learned about each other, it felt as if they were two broken souls. Despite all the torture they had been through, they were both still alive, and still here. It made Shadow feel hopeful for some reason. 

Maybe it was just that odd feeling again, Shadow presumed, but at the moment, he didn't care. 

Sonic grasped him tighter, forcing him to abandon his thoughts, and finally let the lull of sleep grasp him. 

Shadow awoke earlier than Sonic, and though he felt guilty about leaving, there were a few things he had to get done. First, he wanted to take a shower. Even though most mobians only showered when they absolutely had to (he didn't get why, they somehow managed to stay pretty clean?), he was raised by humans, so he made a compromise. And second, he wanted gummy bears really badly.

Of course he still had to go over to Tails' he didn't know when the fox woke up (or if he even slept at all), so he'd let that wait a little.

And with that in mind, Shadow left for the bathroom, and turned the knob on the shower to a 90° angle, and set out his towel. He took a quick shower, and got out quietly, as to not wake anyone else up.

Shadow, now with fluffed up fur, walked to the pantry, and grabbed his gummy bears, only to be shocked to see Sonic already on the couch, half asleep. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." Shadow politely apologized.

"No no, it wasn't you... I've been up," Sonic yawned, interrupting his speech, "I just wasn't able to get out of bed." Sonic finished in a slow drawl. When he was done speaking, his head dipped to the right, as if he was actively about to pass out.

Uncharacteristically, Shadow quickly came over, and blurted out, "are you okay?" While now gently grasping Sonic's arm.

"This is normal," Sonic hesitated, "just give me a minute." Sonic yawned again.

Shadow paused, he knew this wasn't normal tiredness, but he didn't want to make any assumptions. 

"Hey, if you want, you can go back to sleep, it's perfectly fine." Shadow offered, surprising himself.

"Oh, I can?" Sonic asked, quickly adding blearily, "then I think imma go'an do that..." Sonic wobbled back to Shadows bedroom, slowly closing the door, and presumably, going to sleep.

Shadow informed Rouge of the situation, and told her to keep watch on Sonic, and inform him of any problems. Shadow also said that he would be heading over to Tails' real quick.

Rouge didn't really seem very pleased about that, but agreed as long as he'd be back quickly. And with that in mind, he set off to Tails'

Not soon after leaving, a terrible dread built up in his gut. Shadow couldn't tell if it was because he was leaving, or if he may have felt guilty that he was leaving for the wrong reasons. He arrived on the doorstep, the state of the door still absolutely annoying him, but as Tails answered the door, Shadow suddenly felt guilty for leaving Sonic, who obviously wasn't feeling well, for trivial matters.

It was then that Shadow decided that, if he was going to leave someone in that state, than he would at least make the trip count. He decided that he was going to leave with information. Information on how he could help (his friend?) Sonic.

"So uh, you wanted me to delete some pictures?" Tails said, welcoming Shadow into his house hesitantly. Slight fear shown in his eyes, obviously worried about being alone with Shadow.

His chest welled up with anxiety. He couldn't believe that he had been so worried just yesterday about something so... dumb. He looked over at the fox, decidedly ignoring the slight flinch of the shorter fox. "No, I've... changed my mind. I have more pressing worries to deal with." 

Pressing? This was about Sonic, who he could have sworn was his rival. Odd.

"Like what?" The fox was now staring down at the dirtied clipboard in his hand, with what was probably some checklist for plane maintenance, scrawled in messy handwriting into the blanks. He did own a biplane, he was pretty sure.

"It's about Sonic. I don't know what it is, but maybe you could help." He now noticed that they were awkwardly standing in the entryway of Tails' house. He fidgeted with the cuff of his glove, anxious to understand what was going on. He didn't like not knowing; it made him nervous.

Tails, seeming to notice the building anxiety in the other, finally took the initiative to invite him to the couch. Shadow sat down first, a little to quickly, a little to eagerly. Tails soon followed, but Shadow's wars were met with a sharp yelp, and a quiet, "just give me a second."

It wasn't hard to understand what happened, and Shadow's suspicions were confirmed when Tails let out a hoarse laugh and a quick, " sorry, I sat on my tail. It happens sometimes, you know, with two of them?" Tails paused, "so, if you aren't here to delete the images, then why exactly are you here? I know it's about Sonic, but I still don't have the full picture."

Shadow huffed, hiding his face. It was already odd enough being immensely worried about Sonic, but having to tell someone about it? Absolutely not. Too bad he had to anyway.

"It's... hard to explain. Sonic was just... really tired?" Shadow didn't know why he felt so concerned, it was so unusual. While Shadow would definitely save Rouge's life if it came to it, their general attitude towards each other (not counting Rouge's motherly antics) was "oh, you have a problem? Haha, fix it yourself." 

Now that Shadow thought about it though, Rouge has been more caring than usual. He couldn't figure out if it was because of his incident a few days prior, or if it had something to do with what she kept hinting at. He hasn't heard her comment, "nice play," when he died in a game, nor has he really seen her laughing at his situation. Again, odd.

"Shadow!" The little fox yelled, startling Shadow out of his thoughts. The fox covered his mouth, as if he had said something he shouldn't have. The fox shook his head and started, "I'm fairly sure I know what that is."

Shadow heard Tails mumble, "weird that it's still happening with his current situation and proximity," under his breath.

Shadow blinked. "...Excuse me?"

The fox waved his hands quickly in panic, "uh, nothing! Nothing!" Shadow lifted an eyebrow at that. Absolutely not just nothing.

"Anyway, I uh-" Tails' voice wavered, only to be interrupted by Shadow interjecting.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Shadow said, a bit more cynically than he would have liked, but it still did the trick. Hopefully. Maybe now the fox would actually stop stalling and just speak.

"Oh, well, it seems his narcolepsy is hitting him again." Tails stated clearly, his gaze wandering ever so slightly.

Shadow paused, lifting his eyes away from the fox. Narcolepsy, huh? Shadow never would have guessed, with how hyperactive Sonic usually was. Knowing the fox and Sonic's persistence, Sonic probably never got an actual diagnosis from a doctor, but one could arguably say that Tails has more accountability than a typical doctor anyway.

Shadow let out a small laugh, before looking back over to Tails. "What ever happened to patient confidentiality?" He asked the fox in a joking manner, a gruff undertone present in his voice.

Tails turned bright red, or, as red as he possibly could through his fur. He put his head down in what Shadow could only assume was shame. "Sorry. I wasn't supposed to let anyone know about that. I hope Sonic forgives me."

Shadow seeing his mistake, quickly tried to correct it. He hasn't known that would cause this type of a reaction, but to be fair, he hadn't really spent the time trying to talk to other people. The only information he really had was Sonic and his psychology textbooks.

"It should be fine, after all, I doubt anyone but us know about the whole chaos thing." Shadow said smoothly, hoping that his so-called confidence would comfort the other. 

Shadow assumed it worked, because Tails lifted his head up and nodded.

"There isn't really much I can do. He refuses to let me drag him into a doctor's office, so I can't get him an official diagnosis or prescriptions. That's kinda why he's always running, he says it keeps him awake." Ironic, despite how mature Sonic revealed himself to be, he was still stereotypically immature in some ways.

Dread twisted underneath his skin, piercing him to the core. This sensation was very familiar to Shadow after the events of the days past. He found himself hating it much more than before.

Shadow doubled over, squinting his eyes shut, and gritting his teeth. He heard nothing more than a sharp ringing sound in his ears, it nauseated him. A noise broke through, and was a harsh beeping. 

Shadow forced his eyes open, and discovered that the beeping was coming from Tails' monitors. Tails rushed over, wobbly he noticed. Shadow's hands we're still shaking, and he felt terribly weak, but he listened intently. 

Tails cursed loudly, but quickly silenced himself, Shadow had a feeling that Sonic would get onto him for that.

"Could you please tell me what is going on?" Shadow winced at how hoarse his voice sounded. Tails looked at the monitor for a few more seconds before turning around.

Tails signed in resignation, "looks like it'll be hard to not let you in on this now." Shadow was itching to know what he was talking about.

Tails moved to the side quickly, allowing Shadow a full view on the large monitor, or TV? Shadow couldn't tell.

And right there, were Sonic and Shadow's chaos levels. They completely mirrored each other, with a slow build, and a large spike, which was dated to just a few minutes before. Shadow's measurements were shown on the top half of the screen, and Sonic's at the bottom. From the information, Shadow could tell that Sonic's chaos were far in the negative, and Shadow's high in the positive.

That would explain the pain. It was equivalent, if not more than when he had just preformed a chaos blast, and those left him incapacitated for a long time. Except this wasn't a slow build and sudden release, this was a large spike. And it hurt. A lot.

The most disturbing part of the data was that his chaos readings mirrored Sonic's. He couldn't ignore it any longer. His and Sonic's chaos was connected in some way. 

And if this spike made him feel so bad, how bad does Sonic feel right now? After all, Shadow does have a large resistance to pain after being forced to work for G.U.N.

Tails, seemingly knowing what he was thinking, interjected his thoughts with a sigh. "You may want to get back to him. Also, word of advice, you may want to try and stop overthinking things."

Shadow winced at the blunt advice, but as if on cue, Shadow received a message from Rouge stating that Sonic's condition isn't doing so well.

Without any evident hesitation, Shadow rushed out of Tails' misshapen door, leaving the fox in a state of shock.

Shadow didn't have time to type out a response to Rouge's message, so he left her on "read" for the time being.

Shadow ran back as fast as he could. Judging by the data he saw, he wouldn't be able to preform a chaos control safely and without making the situation worse, so he opted for plain running.

His hands were shaking, his joints were stiff, and he was in agonizing pain, but he ignored it. He didn't have time for that. It didn't matter.

All that mattered right then was getting back to Sonic.


End file.
